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Background While laparoscopic approach for right hemicolectomy (LRH) is considered appropriate for the surgical treatment of both malignant and benign diseases of right colon, there is still debate about how to perform the ileo-colic anastomosis. The ColonDxItalianGroup (CoDIG) was designed as a cohort, observational, prospective, multi-center national study with the aims of evaluating the surgeons’ attitude regarding the intracorporeal (ICA) or extra-corporeal (ECA) anastomotic technique and the related surgical outcomes. Methods One hundred and twenty-five Surgical Units experienced in colorectal and advanced laparoscopic surgery were invited and 85 of them joined the study. Each center was asked not to change its surgical habits. Data about demographic characteristics, surgical technique and postoperative outcomes were collected through the official SICE website database. One thousand two hundred and twenty-five patients were enrolled between March 2018 and September 2018. Results ICA was performed in 70.4% of cases, ECA in 29.6%. Isoperistaltic anastomosis was completed in 85.6%, stapled in 87.9%. Hand-sewn enterotomy closure was adopted in 86%. Postoperative complications were reported in 35.4% for ICA and 50.7% for ECA; no significant difference was found according to patients’ characteristics and technologies used. Median hospital stay was significantly shorter for ICA (7.3 vs. 9 POD). Postoperative pain in patients not prescribed opioids was significantly lower in ICA group. Conclusions In our survey, a side-to-side isoperistaltic stapled ICA with hand-sewn enterotomy closure is the most frequently adopted technique to perform ileo-colic anastomosis after any indications for elective LRH. According to literature, our study confirmed better short-term outcomes for ICA, with reduction of hospital stay and postoperative pain. Trial registration Clinical trial (Identifier: NCT03934151).

La tutela dell’ambiente è anzitutto compito del legislatore che, oltre ad individuare l’interesse in questione come pubblico, indica le misure amministrative per il suo soddisfacimento e, a tal fine, individua le pubbliche amministrazioni preposte alla tutela ambientale, le quali - a loro volta - hanno il compito, mediante l’esercizio dei poteri ad esse attribuiti dalla legge, di curare in concreto l’interesse pubblico ambientale. La circostanza che l’esercizio dei pubblici poteri sia finalizzato al perseguimento di un valore costituzionalmente garantito non significa che detto esercizio possa prescindere dalla ponderazione dell’interesse ambientale con gli altri interessi pubblici di rango costituzionale (quali, ad esempio, la libertà di iniziativa economica); è invece necessario compiere un ragionevole bilanciamento tra l’interesse pubblico alla tutela dell’ambiente e gli altri interessi pubblici di rango costituzionale confliggenti con il primo. L’operazione di bilanciamento non si esaurisce sempre a livello legislativo (bilanciamento in astratto) perché – molto spesso - la norma di legge attributiva del potere amministrativo demanda alla discrezionalità della pubblica amministrazione il compito di effettuare una valutazione comparativa di tutti gli interessi rilevanti al fine di individuare la soluzione migliore per curare nel caso concreto l’interesso pubblico ambientale (bilanciamento in concreto).

Copolyesters containing rigid aromatic units based on 4,4'-sulfonylbisphenol (bisphenol S) have been prepared by melt mixing poly(propylene terephthalate) (PPT) with an ethoxylated bisphenol S (sulfonyldiphenol). The insertion of the bisphenol units inside the polymer chain occurred quantitatively and no side reaction has been observed. The copolymers displayed good thermal stability. The main effect of copolymerization was a lowering in the degree of crystallinity and a decrease of the melting temperature with respect to PPT. On the contrary, an increment of T-g as the content of bisphenol S units increased due to the stiffening effect of the moieties deriving from bisphenol S. The Wood equation described well the correlation between T-g and composition.

Imidazolium poly(butylene terephthalate) ionomers with ionic groups located randomly along the polymer chain or selectively as end-groups (telechelic) have been prepared in order to determine their antimicrobial (AM) activity. Two different approaches have been followed for the linkage of the imidazolium to the polymer backbone: a covalent bond and an ionic aggregation to sulfonated groups covalently bonded to the polymer. The ionic groups have been linked to the polymer in order to improve the long-term AM activity since the low molecular weight additives commonly used tends to migrate toward the surface during use. We have found that imidazolium ionomers present AM activity comparable with that of commercial antimicrobial agents such as Triclosan. The AM activity depends on the polymer architecture, the telechelic approach being more active compared to the random approach. We have proved that imidazolium ionomers retain their high AM activity even after 6 days in water at 60 °C while Triclosan consistently loses his activity.

Recent regulation IEC 60335-1 ed.4 (2008) was introduced for materials used in electric appliance, establishing new limits in glow wire ignition temperature (GWIT) performance for materials used for electric connectors. Development of new products with high GWIT is possible, but the main issue is to keep good mechanical properties and processability, as well as tracking resistance (CTI). Only few patents and no scientific publication exist about glow wire test performance of polymers. In this work we report GWIT and CTI properties for three engineering thermoplastic polymers (PBT, PET and PC). We have also studied the phenomena involved in this test, treating the phenomena with the parameterization approach already used in the studies of the fire behaviours of polymers. PC, PBT and PET filled with 30% w/w glass fibres have been tested, and material properties that can be related to GWIT and CTI performance have been measured by TGA, Laser flash, Py-GC/MS. CTI seems to be predictable with the char formation tendency of the materials, so PBT show a higher tracking resistance than PET and PC. Polycarbonate is the only that pass the test glow wire (GWIT higher than 775°C) but generally GWIT performance is not directly related with degradation temperature, since PET is more thermal stable compared with PBT, but less stable in glow wire test. The ignition process, together with the unsteady heat and mass transfer process characteristic of glow wire test, are affected by many parameters at the same time. That’s why it is not easy to relate results of TGA, Laser flash, Py-GC/MS with the glow wire ignition temperature of the materials tested, but the whole of these properties can give useful indication.

Aliphatic poly(butylene 1,12-dodecanedioate) is an interesting biodegradable polyester characterized by high thermal stability and high crystallinity, but low melting temperature. In order to improve the performances of this polymer some novel fully aliphatic random copolyesters have been prepared starting from 1,4-butanediol and different molar ratio of 1,12-dodecanedioc acid and 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid. The copolymers have a notable resistance to thermal degradation, thermal properties which vary as a function of the composition, and maintain the mechanical characteristics of the poly(alkylene dicarboxylate). In particular, the copolymer containing the 70 mol% of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate units improves the thermal properties of the poly(butylene 1,12-dodecanedioate) and presents a very high biodegradation rate, higher than those of the two parent homopolymers. This behavior has been correlated to the low level of crystallinity of the sample and to the composition of the amorphous phase. Therefore, these novel fully aliphatic copolymers represent an interesting new class of copolyesters which can balance good physical properties and high biodegradability.

Poly(butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate), an aliphatic polyester with favorable properties, such as resistance to weather and potential biodegradability, has been synthesized with different cis/trans ratio of the 1,4-cyclohexylene ring. The samples show high degradation temperatures, independent of the stereochemistry of the aliphatic ring. Instead, glass transition temperature, crystallization and melting behavior are strongly influenced by the cis/trans ratio. The trans isomer, more rigid and symmetric than the cis, favors higher transition temperatures and crystallizability. The DMTA spectra present two secondary relaxations, attributed to the -(CH 2 )- unit and aliphatic ring motions, which can be beneficial for improving impact resistance properties. The physical properties are compared with those of PBT and PCCD.

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) (PCCD) ionomers containing terminal ionic units, derived from a novel sodiosulfonate epoxy molecule, were synthesised using an end capping technique in solution. The sulfonated epoxide has the fundamental feature of selectively reacting with the polymer carboxylic terminal groups and therefore, creating polymers with terminal ionic groups. The presence of the sodiosulfonate end groups was confirmed by 1 H NMR spectroscopy and titration of carboxyl end groups. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the presence of ionic end groups has a different effect on the crystallisation process. In particular in PBT the ionic groups cause an increment of the crystallisation rate, whereas, in PCCD the opposite effect is observed.

Aliphatic poly(alkylene dithiocarbonate)s are an interesting class of potentially biodegradable and biocompatible materials in analogy with their homologous poly(alkylene carbonate)s. In this paper, the properties of poly(hexamethylene dithiocarbonate) (SSR6) are compared to those of poly(hexamethylene carbonate) (HMC) in order to study the effect of the substitution of oxygen atoms with sulphur atoms in the polymer backbone. SSR6 presents a higher level of crystallinity and a faster crystallisation rate with respect to HMC. The melting temperature in SSR6 is about 60 °C higher, due to a solid–solid transition between phase I, stable at room temperature, and phase II, present at high temperature. HMC crystallises only in phase I and melts at a relatively low temperature (30 °C). The capacity of SSR6 to crystallise in phase II has been attributed to the higher flexibility and mobility of the chains containing –S–CO–S– groups with respect to the chains containing –O–CO–O– groups. The pure phase II in SSR6 has been obtained in isothermal conditions and its crystallisation rate and mechanism have been analysed.

Copolyesters of terephthalic acid with bis-(hydroxyethyl ether) of bisphenol A (BHEEB) in different molar ratios have been synthesized by reactive blending from terephthalate polyesters and by melt polycondensation from the monomers. By this way, bisphenol A groups were inserted in the polyester chains with the aim to obtain polyesters with improved mechanical properties. The insertion of the BHEEB into the polyester backbone is quantitative and does not give rise to side reactions. These copolyesters can be obtained by the chemical recycling of commercial polymers; indeed BHEEB can be synthesized by chemical recycling of bisphenol A polycarbonate and may be incorporated in the polyester by reactive blending with recycled terephthalate polyesters. A new method for BHEEB synthesis by chemical recycling of PC is also presented

Particle-based simulation represents a powerful approach to modeling physical systems in electronics, molecular biology, and chemical physics. Accounting for the interactions occurring among charged particles requires an accurate and efficient solution of Poisson’s equation. For a system of discrete charges with inhomogeneous dielectrics, i.e., a system with discontinuities in the permittivity, the boundary element method (BEM) is frequently adopted. It provides the solution of Poisson’s equation, accounting for polarization effects due to the discontinuity in the permittivity by computing the induced charges at the dielectric boundaries. In this framework, the total electrostatic potential is then found by superimposing the elemental contributions from both source and induced charges. In this paper, we present a comparison between two BEMs to solve a boundary-integral formulation of Poisson’s equation, with emphasis on the BEMs’ suitability for particle-based simulations in terms of solution accuracy and computation speed. The two approaches are the collocation and qualocation methods. Collocation is implemented following the induced-charge computation method of D. Boda et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 125, 034901 (2006)]. The qualocation method is described by J. Tausch et al. [IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems 20, 1398 (2001)]. These approaches are studied using both flat and curved surface elements to discretize the dielectric boundary, using two challenging test cases: a dielectric sphere embedded in a different dielectric medium and a toy model of an ion channel. Earlier comparisons of the two BEM approaches did not address curved surface elements or semiatomistic models of ion channels. Our results support the earlier findings that for flat-element calculations, qualocation is always significantly more accurate than collocation. On the other hand, when the dielectric boundary is discretized with curved surface elements, the two methods are essentially equivalent; i.e., they have comparable accuracies for the same number of elements. We find that ions in water—charges embedded in a high-dielectric medium—are harder to compute accurately than charges in a low-dielectric medium.

Il contributo si propone di analizzare sotto il profilo civilistico-negoziale i contenuti dei "Modelli di organizzazione e gestione" previsti dal d.lgs. n. 231/01

Poly(butylene terephthalate) ionomers with imidazolium groups selectively located as end-groups (telechelic) have been prepared by melt polycondensation adding a hydroxyl derivatized imidazolium salt at the beginning of the polymerization process. The design of the chemical structure of the imidazolium salt is of fundamental importance in order to achieve the synthesis of ionomers with good thermo-mechanical properties. The final ionomers present high molecular weight, good color, transparency and thermal stability. Imidazolium ionomers present good antimicrobial (AM) properties comparable with those of commercial AM agents. The incorporation of the ionic groups in the polymer chain prevents their migration during use and therefore the antimicrobial activity can be preserved for longer time.

International audience; Anatase-structured TiO2 films were deposited on a commercial fluorinated polymer (FEP) with a treated surface, by means of a sol-gel dip-coating technique. Two different curing temperatures were investigated and the film microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses. The prepared samples presented very high performances in terms of photocatalytic activities, analyzed by the degradation of an organic dye in a liquid medium, and of bactericidal activities, tested on Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, a Gram positive bacterium) and Escherichia coli (E. coli, a Gram negative bacterium).

Surface coatings of pretreated poly(fluoroethylene propylene) (FEP) films by UV-induced graft copolymerization with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and an antimicrobial agent, 3-hexadecyl-1-vinylimidazolium bromide (VIB), have been carried out. Surface chemical and morphological modifications were investigated with spectroscopic analysis using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction distribution map of bromide atoms. Fluorescein dye absorption studies were performed in order to quantify the amount of reacted VIB. Antibacterial activities were assayed with Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus , a Gram positive bacterium) culture on HEMA-VIB modified FEP specimens, prepared with different amounts of the antimicrobial agent. In addition to bactericidal properties, the functionalized FEP surface also prevented the adhesion of microorganisms to the film.

International audience; The synthesis of novel poly(butylene dodecanoate)s containing different percentages of glycerol was successfully carried out. The polyesters are characterized by branched or cross-linked molecular structures, according to the glycerol content. The modification of the linear backbone of the poly(butylene dodecanoate) increases the rigidity and induces significant changes in the polymer behavior toward photodegradation with respect to UV irradiation. Such a result could be very significant for specific outdoor applications of the novel polyesters

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) is widely used for electrical and electronic devices as insulating material. For these applications PBT has to combine both good flammability and electrical properties (tracking resistance) measured, respectively, by UL94 and Comparative Tracking Index (CTI) tests. In this paper a simultaneous study of UL94 and CTI performances has been conducted on different PBT formulations with the addition of halogen-free flame retardants (diethylphosphinic acid aluminium salt (AlPi) and melamine polyphosphate (MPP)). A thermosetting resin (Ultem) has also been added. FTIR and TGA analyses have been used in order to relate the action of these additives to flammability and electrical properties. AlPi shows the best flame results achieving a V0 classification in UL94 test. On the other hand, melamine has the best performances in CTI tests. TGA and FTIR analyses show that AlPi acts in the condensed phase forming a consistent amount of char, while melamine acts in the gas phase and is not able to protect PBT during combustion.

Bisphenol A polycarbonate telechelic sulfonated ionomers have been prepared by melt polycondensation using bis(methyl salicyl) carbonate (BMSC), bisphenol A (BPA) and the sodium salt of sulfobenzoic acid phenylester (SBENa). Using an activated carbonate such as BMSC it is possible to decrease both reaction temperature and time respect to a standard polycondensation that use diphenylcarbonate (DPC) as carbonate precursor. Using the activated carbonate, ionomers with low Fries by-products and with good color have been obtained. The addition of SBENa permits the preparation of telechelic ionomers with ionic contents up to 3 mol%. All the properties of the telechelic ionomer obtained using BMSC are superior respect to those of the telechelic ionomers obtained using DPC. In particular, the ionomers prepared using BMSC are stable up to 400 °C and present higher glass transition temperature and storage modulus respect to standard PC.

Il contributo affronta il tema della responsabilità del mediatore e della natura della conciliazione ex d.lgs. 28/2010

Il contributo affronta il tema della responsabilità del mediatore e della natura della conciliazione ex d.lgs. 28/2010

Novel copolyesters have been prepared by polycondensation and by melt mixing of poly(butylene terephthalate) with an ethoxylated bisphenol S. No side reactions occur during the synthesis of the samples, as proved by NMR analysis. The polyesters were examined by TGA and DSC. The insertion of the bisphenol S (sulfonyldiphenol) group significantly improved the thermal stability of the polymer. The thermal analysis carried out using DSC technique showed that the T m of the copolymers decreased with increasing co-unit content, differently from T g , which on the contrary increased, exceeding in some cases 100 °C, and crystallization rate decreased. A polymer containing only terephthalate moieties and ethoxylated bisphenol S has been prepared for the first time.

High-performance materials in the optical field, with special reference to optical limiting applications, can be obtained by combining nonlinear optical (NLO) active molecules with high optical quality hosts. An interesting method is the synthesis of fullerene–polymer systems. In this paper novel fullerene–polysulfone samples were obtained by direct fullerenation between a commercial sample of polysulfone and fullerene, using electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions in the presence of AlCl 3 as catalyst. The synthesis was successful; the molecular structures of the samples, confirmed by 1 H NMR, IR, and UV analyses, indicate that fullerene is covalently bonded to the polysulfone chains. C 60 is random distributed along the macromolecules, in amounts varying from 0.5 to 3.2 mol%. The C 60 –polysulfone materials show a very high thermal stability, a glass transition temperature depending on the C 60 content, and interesting optical limiting properties.

Poly(butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) (PBCHD) is an environmentally friendly material, as it can be obtained from biomass (although nowadays it is prepared from petroleum resources) and is potentially biodegradable. Moreover, the aliphatic rings along the chains lend interesting characteristics, for example good mechanical properties and resistance to weather for outdoor applications. As many properties, such as biodegradability, strongly depend on crystallinity, a study of the crystallizability of PBCHDs is very meaningful. Equilibrium melting temperatures and crystallization rates are strongly affected by the cis/trans ratio of the 1,4-cyclohexylene units. Indeed, only the trans isomer can form crystals, whereas the cis isomer is fully excluded from the crystalline phase. All thermal data can be well understood by considering PBCHD as a random copolymer with crystallizable (trans isomer) and noncrystallizable (cis isomer) components, which only differ for the stereochemistry of the aliphatic rings.

Il contributo affronta il problema relativo al regime di responsabilità dei componenti l'Organismo di Vigilanza, previsto ex d.lg. n. 231/2001, delineandone funzioni e competenze, sì da tipizzare, per quanto possibile, il relativo Statuto, nel generale quadro dei compiti e dei doveri esigibili in capo a ciascun organo sociale

Weatherable semicrystalline polyesters based on 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (CHDA) or dimethyl 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylate (DMCD) can be prepared under normal melt-phase conditions, using titanium tetrabutoxide as catalyst. The effect of monomer ratio, reaction temperature and catalyst loading on the final polymer properties was studied. Under the proper polymerization conditions, poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) polymers with high molecular weight can be obtained. During polymerization, isomerization can occur towards the thermodynamically stable cis-trans ratio of 34–66 mol%. Carboxylic acid end groups can catalyze the isomerization and therefore the polymerization is more critical starting from CHDA rather than DMCD. Moreover, temperature control becomes a key factor to avoid or to limit isomerization. The study of the isomerization of the different monomers permitted a better understanding of the isomerization and therefore of the polymerization process. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

In this work we present a three-dimensional numerical simulation technique for the study of ion permeation through ion channels embedded in silicon membranes, that can be exploited for sensor applications. The results of this work clarify how the charges embedded in the protein forming the ion channel can influence ionic conductance through silicon membrane slabs, controlling the channel conductance and selectivity with respect to ionic species.

Il contributo raccoglie e recepisce, in modo organico, i contenuti del corso "Diritto della Comunicazione" tenuto dal docente negli ultimi anni presso la Facoltà di Giurisprudenza - Sede di Ravenna - offrendo allo studente uno strumento di lettura e di interpretazione delle relazioni generate dalla attività giornalistica, "latu sensu" intesa. I contenuti espressi sono frutto, altresì, di molteplici suggestioni formulate dagli stessi studenti che hanno attivamente frequentato il Corso.

Novel aliphatic, random copolyesters, containing co-units derived from a poly(alkylene dicarboxylate) and a poly(butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate), have been synthesized and characterized in terms of molecular structure and thermal properties. In particular, the effects of the molar composition, the length of the aliphatic sequences, and the cis/trans ratio of the 1,4-cyclohexylene units on the characteristics of the crystalline and amorphous phases are discussed. Some interesting structure-property relationships have been found. The materials result to be very promising new biopolymers as they are characterized by a potential biodegradability and good physical properties, which can be easily modified, according to the requests of specific applications, by little changes in the Molecular structure.

This article presents the results of a study carried out with the aim to: 1) analyze secondary school students’ and their teachers’ ideal perceptions of classroom justice, 2) deepen the topic of students’ sense of injustice, and 3) explore the links between students’ perceived injustice and their psychological engagement in school, measured on different aspects (identification with one’s own class, learning motivation, responsibility, dialogue with teachers, participation to school activities). A questionnaire was distributed to 400 Italian secondary school students and their 79 teachers. Results show that the conceptions of ideal classroom justice refer to communication, principle of equality and principle of need, and that the positions of teachers and students on these conceptions differ. Moreover, students report a rather diffuse and shared feeling of being treated in an unjust manner by their teachers, and this has a strong impact on their psychological engagement in school. Results are commented for their theoretical, methodological and applicative implications.

The synthesis of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) nanocomposites by in situ polymerisation method using an organo-modified layered doubled hydroxide is described. 4-Sulfobenzoic acid potassium salt, sodium dodecyl sulfate and dimethyl 5-sulfo isophthalate sodium salt were used as intercalating compounds to improve clay exfoliation. The thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of the nanocomposites prepared were investigated and compared to those of montmorillonite-type nanocomposites prepared by similar synthetic route. The nanocomposites obtained, independent of the degree of exfoliation, showed better dynamic mechanical properties respect to PBT homopolymer while improvements in thermal stability were achieved when dimethyl 5-sulfo isophthalate was used as intercalating agent, highlighting the importance of the interactions of ionic groups covalently linked to the polymer with the charged clay platelets.

Il Codice del Consumo rappresenta una compiuta risposta all'esigenza, da tempo avvertita, di operare un riordino di tutta la normativa relativa alla tutela del consumatore. Il presente commentario intende brevemente evidenziare i tratti peculiari e fondamentali del riassetto normativo così intervenuto.

In order to improve the thermal and mechanical properties of the poly(butylene 1,12-dodecanedioate), some novel aliphatic-aromatic random copolyesters have been prepared by starting from 1,4-butanediol and different molar ratio of 1,12-dodecanedioc acid and terephthalic acid. The samples were characterized by 1 H NMR and the molecular structure was correlated with the crystalline phase present, the level of crystallinity, the glass transition temperature, the mechanical behavior, and the biodegradability. In particular, the copolymer containing the 70 mol% of PBT repeating units notably improves the thermal and mechanical properties of the poly(butylene 1,12-dodecanedioate) towards those of PBT and maintains a very high thermal stability, but loses the biodegradability of the poly(alkylene dicarboxylate). Therefore, for this class of aliphatic–aromatic copolymers the chemical composition must be carefully chosen to reach a compromise between good thermal and mechanical performances and biodegradability, according to the necessity.

The synthesis of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) nanocomposites by in situ polymerisation method using an organo-modified layered doubled hydroxide is described. 4-sulfobenzoic acid potassium salt, sodium dodecyl sulfate, dimethyl 5-sulfo isophtalate sodium salt and -pentadecalactone were used as intercalating compounds to improve clay exfoliation. The thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of the nanocomposites prepared were investigated and compared to those of montmorillonite-type nanocomposites prepared by similar synthetic route.

This study investigates on the preparation and characterisation of new random copolymers containing the monomeric units of a poly(arylene ether ketone) (PEAEK) and a poly(arylene thioether ketone) (PTATK) previously synthesised by our group. The syntheses were performed using a one-pot polymerisation method starting from 4,4′-difluorobenzophenone, bis(N,N-dimethyl-S-carbamate) of 2,2-bis(4-mercaptophenyl)propane (MBTA) and bisphenol A (BPA). Different mole percentages of BPA with respect to MBTA, varying from 20% to 80%, were used. The copolymers, obtained in good yields, have molecular weights in the range from 19,000 to 32,000 as determined by GPC. The structural proof is provided by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The TGA analysis shows that the high stability of PEAEK is only slightly affected by the introduction of the PTATK co-units in the chain. Indeed, the presence of sulphur atoms induces an initial degradation process at temperatures slightly lower than that of PEAEK, but in a second stage tends to improve the formation of crosslinkings. Moreover, the copolymers with an amount of PEAEK equal to 40 and 20 mol% show a small crystallinity, due to the presence of PTATK units. The Tg values are not affected by the composition of copolymers. Therefore, the presence of sulphur atoms in the polymer backbone does not significantly modify the PEAEK characteristics, whereas can induce important new properties, such as better flame resistance or higher refractive index.