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Size control of the poly (1,4-phenylene-5-hydroxyisophthalamide) hollow spheres was examined by tuning the polymerization condition, focusing on concentration, temperature and solvent. Higher concentration lowered the diameter owing to the higher degree of super-saturation for nucleation. Temperature drop during the polymerization just before the nucleation was so effective to make the diameter smaller. Moreover, the diameter was susceptive to the solubility of oligomers in the solvent, and higher content of liquid paraffin in the aromatic solvent lowered the solubility, resulting in the decrease in the diameter. Based on these results, the combination of the temperature drop and the solvent effect was the most desirable to prepare the smallest hollow spheres, and the diameter of hollow spheres could be controlled from 4.4 to 0.7 μm.

Preparation of poly[4-(5-oxy-1,3-dioxoisoindoline-2-yl)benzoyl] (PODB) crystals, which was an intractable aromatic poly(ester-imide), was examined by means of reaction-induced crystallization of oligomers during the polymerization. Highly crystalline PODB helical ribbons were obtained by the polymerization of N -(4-carboxyphenyl)-4-acetoxyphthalimide in aromatic solvent at 280–330 °C at a concentration of 0.5–1.0%. The PODB molecules aligned along the long axis of the helical ribbon. The pitch of the helix increased with the polymerization temperature and it could be controlled from 320 nm to 1.3 μm. Further, the fibrillar PODB crystals comprised of the helical and the non-helical blocks were prepared by the on-off switching of the helical morphology with the changing the temperature and the concentration of the polymerization. These results provided the methodology for the morphology control of polymer crystals.

Crystals of salt monomer prepared from aromatic tetracarboxylic acids and aromatic diamines were polymerized at 220°C for 3 h and at 400°C for 3 h under argon flow. Highly crystalline polyimide particles having clear morphology were obtained with good yield. They were lozenge-like crystals, long plate-like crystals, fibrillar crystals, and spherical aggregates of plate-like crystals. The crystals of salt monomer were polymerized in the solid-state with maintaining the morphology, and therefore the morphology of the polyimide particles were the same to that of the crystals of the corresponding salt monomer. Molecular orientation in the lozenge-shaped crystal of poly( p-phenylene pyromelliteimide) was examined by selected area electron diffraction, and the polymer molecules aligned perpendicular to the plate plane which was the direction of the thickness. Obtained particles possessed good thermal stability.

From the viewpoint of the suppression of the petroleum consumption, aromatic poly(ether ketone)s (PEKs) were prepared by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerization of 2,5-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)furan (BFBF) synthesized from biomass and aromatic bisphenols. The model reaction of BFBF and p-methoxyphenol revealed that BFBF possessed enough reactivity for the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions. The polymerizations of BFBF and aromatic bisphenols afforded high molecular weight polymers with good yields in N-methylpyrrolidone and diphenyl sulfone for several hours. The longer polymerization time brought about the formation of insoluble parts in any solvents and reduction of molecular weight. The obtained PEKs were thermoplastics and exhibited good thermal stability, mechanical properties, and chemical resistance comparable to common high-performance polymers. The thermal properties were tunable with the structure of bisphenols. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016, 54, 3094–3101

Aromatic poly(ether ketone)s were synthesized by the Friedel–Crafts polymerization of 2,5-furandicarbonyl dichloride prepared from biomass and petroleum-based aromatic ethers such as diphenyl ether and 1,4-diphenoxybenzene with aluminum chloride (AlCl3). The polymerizations in common molecular solvents such as 1,2-dichloroethane and nitrobenzene did not afford polymers. The Friedel–Crafts polymerization usually undergoes in the swollen gel of the oligomer–AlCl3 complexes; the precipitated physical gels had not been enough swollen. The polymerizations were carried out in various ionic liquids to form swollen gels. The polymerizations proceeded in specific ionic liquid such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl), and high molecular weight polymers were obtained with good yield. The gels formed in [C4mim]Cl were more highly swollen, and additionally the rate constant estimated by the model reaction of 2,5-furandicarbonyl dichloride and anisole was higher in [C4mim]Cl than that in 1,2-dichloroeth...

Helical ribbons of poly[4-(5-oxy-1,3-dioxoisoindoline-2-yl)benzoyl] (PODB) were previously prepared by the homo-polymerization of N-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4-acetoxyphthalimide (CAP) in aromatic solvents. The copolymerization of CAP and p-acetoxybenzoic acid (ABA) was examined to change the helical morphology. The helical morphology was extinguished by the copolymerization of a small amount of ABA at 280 °C at a concentration of 1.0% in aromatic solvent. Based on these results, ABA was added stepwise during the homo-polymerization of CAP. When a small amount of ABA was added, copolymer crystals comprised of helical and non-helical blocks were formed. The non-helical blocks grew on the PODB helical ribbons by the precipitation of co-oligomers. This result provides a novel method to control helical morphology by copolymerization.

To clarify the effect of triazole (TR) group at the closing point within the cyclic polymer chain on the crystal growth, we studied morphology and the growth rate of spherulite G of cyclic poly(e-caprolactone) with a TR group at the closing point (C-TR-PCL) as a function of the degree of supercooling ΔT using polarizing optical microscopy. We prepared C-TR-PCLs synthesized by the ring-closing reaction from their linear precursors with Mw = 30000 and 50000, and cyclic PCL polymerized by ring expansion reaction (C-PCL) having no TR group with Mw = 26000, and linear PCL with/without a TR group at a chain end (L-TR-PCL-OH and L-PCL) with Mw = 26000 and 36000, where Mw was determined by GPC using linear polystyrene standards. We found that C-TR-PCL and L-TR-PCL-OH show banded spherulites at small ΔT and band-less normal spherulites with maltese cross at large ΔT. Whereas, C-PCL and L-PCL only showed band-less normal spherulites at any ΔT. This speculates that steric hindrance of TR group near the surface of crystals will become significant at small ΔT. G obeyed the equation, G = G0exp(−B/TΔT), for all the samples. B of C-PCL and L-PCL is constant irrespective of TΔT, however, that of C-TR-PCL and L-TR-PCL-OH showed two values depending on TΔT. At the region of lower B, i.e., small ΔT, the banded spherulites could be observed. The change of B corresponds to the morphological change of the spherulites. Since the size of the crystalline region closely related to lamellar thickness becomes large at small ΔT, TR groups excluded from the crystals become to assemble near the surface of the crystals. This is the reason why B becomes low at small ΔT. In C-TR-PCL with higher Mw and L-TR-PCL-OH, the decrease of B with decreasing ΔT becomes small compared to that of C-TR-PCL with lower Mw due to relatively small effect of TR group.

To elucidate the molecular weight (Mw) dependence of the growth rate of spherulite (G) of cyclic polymers polymerized by the ring expansion reaction, we studied the G of cyclic poly(e-caprolactone) (C-PCL) growing from the melt as a function of the crystallization temperature (Tc) and degree of supercooling (ΔT) using polarizing optical microscopy. We prepared C-PCLs comprising an exclusively repeating unit, excluding other structural units with Mw = 17000, 33000, 41000, 74000 and 85000 and linear PCLs (L-PCL) with Mw = 16000, 35000 and 60000, where Mw was determined by GPC using linear polystyrene standards. G obeyed the equation, G = G0exp(−B/TΔT), for all the samples. The activation energies of secondary nucleation (B) of C-PCL were almost identical except for the C-PCL with the lowest Mw. Since B is proportional to the end surface free energy of the secondary nucleus, it implies that the regularity of the folding surface of C-PCL with high Mw is independent of Mw. Compared to C-PCL and L-PCL having almost the same Mw, G of L-PCL is higher than that of C-PCL at the same TΔT. This suggests that G of C-PCL and L-PCL is not solely controlled by the entanglement because the entanglement of C-PCL is lower than that of L-PCL. We found the following associations: G0∝Mw−1.2 for C-PCL and G0∝Mw−0.67 for L-PCL. The difference in the power of the G0 dependence on Mw reflects the difficulty of performing sliding diffusion in the secondary nucleus. This strongly supports the hypothesis that the absorption behavior of C-PCL chains in the secondary nucleus on the growth front is significantly different from that of L-PCL.

Direct polymerizations of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid (HNA) in the presence of boronic anhydride were examined by using crystallization under non-stoichiometric condition. The polymerizations were carried out with the addition of monofunctional compounds such as an aromatic carboxylic acid and a phenol. High molecular weight poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (POB) and poly(2-oxy-6-naphthoyl) (PON) were obtained in the form of precipitates, and their molecular weights were much higher than those calculated according to the stoichiometric imbalance. Oligomers were formed by the direct polymerization with eliminating water in the solution, and then they were precipitated to form the crystals at the initial stage of the polymerization. Oligomers end-capped by monofunctional compounds were also formed in the solution, but the polymerization continued with the elimination of monofunctional compounds by the ester exchange reaction. The end-capped oligomers were precipitated in the middle of the polymerization, and the polymerization proceeded efficiently even in the precipitated crystals by not only the direct polymerization but also the ester exchange polymerization, resulting in the increase in molecular weight.

Hollow spheres of poly(1,4-phenylene-5-hydroxyisophthalamide) had been obtained by the reaction-induced phase separation during polymerization of 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid and 1,4-phenylene diamine in an aromatic solvent. In this study, formation mechanism of the hollow spheres was considered from the view points of eliminated small molecules, polymer structure, and cross-linking reaction. With respect to the eliminated small molecules, water was the most desirable to form gas-bubbles in droplets compared with methanol and acetic acid, due to the insolubility into the polymerization system. Rigid polymer structure was also needed to prepare hollow spheres owing to the rapid solidification of droplets. Further, phenolic hydroxyl group in 5-hydroxy-1,3-phenylene moiety caused the ester-amide exchange reaction to form cross-linked skin layer in the droplets. The efficient formation of the skin layer was important to encapsulate gas-bubbles in the droplets, resulting in the formation of hollow structure. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 1966–1974

Poly(2,6-1H-benzo[f]isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione) (PBID), which was a self-condensable naphthalene-containing polyimide, was synthesized as precipitated crystals from 6-amino-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2-naphthoic acid and 7-amino-3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2-naphthoic acid by using reaction-induced crystallization during solution polymerization. The obtained PBID crystals possessed high crystallinity, excellent thermal stability and chemical resistance. They neither exhibited Tg nor Tm under the decomposition temperature. The morphology of the PBID crystals depended on not only the polymerization conditions but also the isomeric structure of the monomer, and the wide variety of the morphology appeared such as rods, plates and lathes. The plate-like crystals had fine protuberances on the surface. Copolymerization of PBID and poly(4-phthalimide) were also examined.

Composition control of aromatic poly(thioester-amide) was examined by the reaction-induced phase separation during polymerization of S-acetyl-4-mercaptobenzoic acid (AMBA) and p-acetylaminobenzoic acid (AABA) in aromatic solvent. The poly(thioester-amide)s were obtained as precipitates and their yields became lower at the middle range of the content of AMBA in feed (χf). The contents of p-mercaptobenzoyl (MB) moiety (χp) in the precipitates prepared without shearing were in good agreement with the χf values. In contrast to this, the χp values of the precipitates prepared at χf of 50–70 mol % under shearing were much lower than the χf values. The reaction rate of AMBA increased with shearing, whereas that of AABA was unchanged by shearing. This shearing effect on the reaction rates accelerated to form the homo-oligomers. The solubility of MB oligomers enhanced by shearing, whereas that of p-benzamide oligomers did not enhance owing to the strong interaction through hydrogen bonding. The MB oligomers were inhibited to be precipitated, resulting in the lower χp values than the χf values. The composition could be controlled by the application of the shearing to the heterogeneous polymerization. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 4301–4308

Sulfonation reaction of fluorine-containing poly(arylene ether nitrile) derived from 4-phenoxy-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzonitrile (PTFB) and 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane (6FBA) by concentrated sulfuric acid at 30°C yielded quantitative introduction of one sulfonic group into phenoxy ring in the polymer at para-position with 68 mol% and at meta-position with 32 mol% due to the influence of fluorines at the ortho-positions of adjacent benzene ring. Membrane properties of the resulting polymer, thermal stability, proton conductivity and water uptake, were investigated for the application in fuel cells. While the membrane derived from the polymer showed similar level of proton conductivity at humidified condition to NAFION®112, its dimensional stability based on water uptake was lower than that of NAFION®112.

Hollow spheres of aromatic polyamide are obtained by the reaction-induced phase separation during polymerization of 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid and 1,4-phenylene diamine in an aromatic solvent at a concentration of 1–2% at 320 °C without stirring. The hollow sphere has a dimple hole and the diameters of the hollow spheres are 3–4 μm. The droplets are initially generated via liquid–liquid phase separation and then rigid cross-linked network structure formed the rigid skin layer on the surface of the droplets. The solidification of the droplets occurred owing to the further polymerization in them with maintaining the morphology to form the hollow spheres. The hollow spheres exhibit outstanding thermal stability. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013

Morphology control of poly(ether ketone) (PEK) was examined by using the crystallization during the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of potassium salt of 4-fluoro-4′-hydroxybenzophenone. Polymerizations were carried out at 290 °C. The PEK was obtained as precipitates and its morphology was highly influenced by the polymerization condition such as the solvent, the concentration and the polymerization time. High crystalline spindle-like crystals were obtained by the polymerization in diphenyl sulfone (DPS) at a concentration of 5.0% for 2 h with the yield of 86%. The average length and width were 1.4 μm and 300 nm respectively, and the maximum thickness was 130 nm. The surface was not smooth and it was hilly. The spindle-like crystal was likely consisted of multilayered lamellae comprised of the microcrystallites. The molecules were oriented perpendicular to the lamella. The polymerization in DPS at a higher concentration of 10.0% afforded the networks of nanofibres, of which the diameter was 100–250 nm. The obtained PEK precipitates possessed excellent thermal properties.

Poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (POB) precipitates prepared by reaction-induced phase separation during copolymerization exhibit wide variety of morphologies such as fibril, needle, slab, spindle, and sphere. The morphology is significantly influenced by the copolymerization conditions of structure of trifunctional comonomers, copolymerization ratio, solvent, concentration, and temperature of the polymerization. Among them, POB nanofiber networks like a texture of nonwoven fabrics are obtained only by the polymerization of 4-acetoxybenzoic acid with 3,5-diacetoxybenzoic acid (DABA) in aromatic solvent at a concentration of 1.0–2.0% at the content of DABA in feed of 10–20 mol % at 320°C. The network is comprised of fibrillar crystals connected each other at spherical nodal points. The diameters of the fibers are 90–129 nm. This network is highly crystalline and the molecules are aligned along the long direction of the fibers. Various parameters characterized the networks can be controlled by the polymerization concentration. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

Precise assignment with 1H, 13C and some two dimensional NMR measurements showed that sulfonation reaction by concentrated sulfuric acid at 30 °C of fluorine-containing poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers derived from 4,4′-bis(2,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoyl)diphenyl ether (BPDE) and 9,9-bis(4-hydroxypehnyl)fluorene (HF) and 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane (6FBA) yielded quantitative introduction of sulfonic groups onto 2- and 7-positions of fluorene ring in HF unit. A series of sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone)s with different ion exchange capacity was prepared by using this method with different compositions of HF and 6FBA, and membranes obtained from these polymers were characterized by TGA, moisture and water uptake, proton conductivity, methanol permeability, and Fenton testing. These membranes showed sufficient thermal stability, high proton conductivity at high humidified condition for PEFC and good balance in proton conductivity in water and methanol permeability for DMFC. On the other hand, they showed relatively high swelling by water probably due to weak intermolecular interaction caused by the existence of fluorine atoms in the polymer structure.

Digital X-ray topography using an X-ray CCD camera and conventional X-ray topography using X-ray film were used to investigate tetragonal hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) crystals. Previously, clear dislocation images of protein crystals were mainly obtained by film methods. Earlier studies of HEWL crystals using an X-ray CCD camera mainly revealed domain structures. In the present study, dislocation images of the same HEWL crystal have been obtained by using conventional X-ray film and a digital X-ray CCD camera. The results demonstrate that digital topography using an X-ray CCD camera is an effective method for characterizing protein crystals. A series of digital topographic images were analyzed by the method developed by Lovelace, Murphy, Pahl, Brister & Borgstahl [J. Appl. Cryst.(2006),39, 425–432]. Sub-peaks and peak broadening originating from dislocations in local rocking curves were observed. Moreover, the crystal perfection was evaluated by mapping the angular positions of the maximums and the full widths at half-maximum of local rocking curves.

New class of hybrid composite was synthesized via sol–gel process with the combination of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), TEOS, 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) reacted with the cross-linking agent glutaraldehyde. The composites demonstrated a maximum high proton conductivity of 1.7 × 10− 2 S cm− 1 at 140 °C and a relative humidity of 50% RH. The swelling ratio was calculated in dry and wet conditions, and the composites were found capable of swelling. The structural formation of the composites was studied by techniques such as FTIR, TGA and impedance spectroscopy, and it was concluded that these PVA-SiO2/GPTMS/GA composite membranes exhibited excellent thermal, mechanical and conductivity properties.

Morphosynthesis of poly[4-(1,4-phenylene)oxyphthalimide] (POPI) and poly[4-(1,4-phenylene)oxyphthalimide-co-4-phthalimide] (POPI-PPI) was examined by using the crystallization during the polymerization. The POPI fibrillar crystals were obtained as precipitates with the formation of spherical aggregates of plate-like crystals. Some of the POPI fibrillar crystals were longer than 15 μm. They possessed high crystallinity and the molecules aligned perpendicular to the long direction of the fibers. On the other hand, one-dimensional structures of POPI-PPI such as ribbon, cone, rod, and fiber were obtained as precipitates by the copolymerization. The copolymer molecules might align along the long direction of the cone-like crystals. The morphology of these poly(ether-imide)s could be controlled by not only the polymerization condition but also with the aid of copolymerization. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012

The present article describes the use of a less expensive non-perfluorinated polymer (polyvinyl alcohol, PVA), heteropolyacid (HPA), glutaraldehyde and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) for the formation of high proton-conducting hybrid composite membranes. The conductivity of the PVA/PMA/Gl/APTES hybrid composite membranes was measured under varying conditions of temperature (from − 20 °C to 140 °C) and relative humidity (from 30 to 90%). Conductivity values in the range of 10 − 3 –10 − 1 S cm − 1 were obtained for the hybrid membranes. These free-standing flexible films were mechanically stable and the corresponding composite membranes were thermally stable up to 300 °C. Their swelling ratio was calculated for dry and wet conditions at room temperature.

Morphology of four kinds of aromatic polyimidazoles was examined by using reaction-induced crystallization during solution polymerization at a concentration of 1% at 350°C in liquid paraffin (LPF), dibenzyltoluene (DBT), and the mixture of these solvents. Aggregates of ribbon-like crystals of poly[2,6-(2,6-naphthalene)-benzobisimidazole] were obtained in LPF, and those of plate-like crystals were obtained in DBT/LPF-50 and in DBT. In contrast to this, the network structures of poly[2,2′-(2,6-naphthalene)-5,5′-bibenzimidazole)] (PNT-BBI) nanofibers with the diameter of 25 to 90 nm was mainly obtained in DBT. The network structures of the PNT-BBI nanofibers could be recognized as nonwoven fabrics of the high-performance polymers. Imidazole trimers were precipitated to form the ribbon-like crystals and then they were continuously supplied from solution to grow the crystals. Molecular weight increased by the polymerization on the surface of the crystals when they crystallized and in the crystals. The initially formed aggregates of ribbon-like crystals changed to the nanofibers with time. In the case of poly[2,6-(4,4′-biphenylene)-benzobisimidazole] and poly[2,2′-(4,4′-biphenylene)-5,5′-bibenzimidazole)], they exhibited various morphologies such as spheres, lath-like crystals, and the spherical aggregates of lath-like crystals depending on the solvent, but fibers like PNT-BBI were not formed. The crystals obtained in this study possessed very high crystallinity and the outstanding thermal stability measured by TGA. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011

Morphology control of poly( p -phenylene pyromelliteimide) (PPPI) crystals was examined using reaction-induced crystallization of oligomers during solution polymerization of self-polymerizable N -(4′-aminophenyl)-3-carboxyl-4-alkoxycarbonylphthalimide. Micro-flowers of the PPPI needle-like crystals were formed in which the needle-like crystals grew radially from the center part as petals. The molecules aligned regularly along the long axis of the needle-like crystal. The structure of alkoxy group in the monomer and the monomer concentration influenced the size of the needle-like crystals, and their average length and width were changeable from 640 nm to 1.69 μm and from 110 nm to 210 nm, respectively. The average thickness was 20 nm. The obtained micro-flowers possessed high crystallinity and exhibited excellent thermal stability.

Poly(p-oxybenzoyl) (POB) crystals were prepared by reaction-induced crystallization during direct polymerization of p-hydroxybenzoic acid in the presence of boronic anhydrides. Polymerizations were carried out at 300 °C in dibenzyltoluene at a concentration of 1% with three kinds of anhydrides of boronic acid such as 3,4,5-trifluorophenylboronic acid (TFB), 4-methoxyphenylboronic acid (MPB) and 4-biphenylboronic acid (BPB). The POB crystals were formed as precipitates in the solution and the morphology was considerably influenced by both the structure of the boronic anhydride and its concentration (cB). Needle-like crystals were firmed in the presence of TFB anhydride (TFBA) at cBs of 5 and 10 mol % by the spiral growth of lamellae. Spherical aggregates of slab-like crystals were formed at cBs from 50 to 100 mol %. The polymerization with MPB anhydride and BPB anhydride (BPBA) also yielded the needle-like crystals at cBs of 50 and 5 mol %, respectively. The polymerization with TFBA at lower cB was favorable to prepare the needle-like crystal. Molecular weight was also influenced by the structure of the boronic anhydride and cB. Mn increased generally with cB and BPBA gave the highest Mn of 14.7 × 103 at cB of 100 mol %. The loose packing of the molecules in the crystal caused by the bulkiness of the end-groups made the polymerization in the crystals more efficiently. Morphology and molecular weight of the POB crystals could be controlled by the chemical structure and the content of boronic anhydride. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011.

Poly(2-oxy-6-naphthoyl) (PON) was obtained as precipitates by direct polymerization of 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid (HNA) in the presence of boronic anhydrides such as 2,4,6-tris(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)-1,3,5,2,4,6-trioxatriborinane (TFBA) and 2,4,6-tri(biphenyl-4-yl)-1,3,5,2,4,6-trioxatriborinane (BPBA). The polymerizations were carried out in an aromatic solvent at 300 °C for 24 h. Both morphology and molecular weight of the PON precipitates were considerably influenced by not only the structure of the boronic anhydride but also its concentration (cB). Spheres with needles on their surface were formed in the polymerization with TFBA at cB of 50–70 mol%, and those having smooth surface were obtained at cB of 100 mol%. The Mn increased with the value of cB in the range from 2.7 × 103 to 9.0 × 103. Aggregates of cone-like crystals were prepared in the polymerization with BPBA at cB of 10–30 mol%, and spheres having rugged surface were formed at cB of 50–100 mol%. The Mn also increased with the value of cB in the range from 5.4 × 103 to 12.9 × 103. These PON precipitates possessed high crystallinity in spite of the morphology. The copolymerization of HNA and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) was also examined in the presence of BPBA at cB of 100 mol% with varying the content of HBA in feed (rf). Copolymers were obtained as spheres of which the content of 4-oxybenzoyl moiety was lower than the value of rf due to the difference in the solubility of the oligomers.

Preparation of discrete PPPI microspheres was examined using the crystallization of oligomers during isothermal polymerization of PMDA and p-phenylene diisocyanate, and that of pyromellitic dithioanhydride and PPDA in poor solvents. In contrast to PPPI microspheres with smooth surfaces that were previously prepared by phase-separation during the polymerization of PPDA and PMDA, the microspheres obtained here consisted of flake-like lamellae with rugged surfaces. The diameters of the microspheres ranged from 0.5 to 6.7 μm. They exhibited excellent thermal stability depending on the monomers. These results provide a new preparative procedure of the PPPI microsphere with a rugged surface.

Polymerizations of 4-(4-acetoxybenzylideneamino)benzoic acid were performed in dibenzyltoluene (DBT) and a mixture of DBT and liquid paraffin at 350 °C for 6 h. Fibrillar crystals of poly[4-(4-oxybenzylideneamino)benzoyl] (POAB) having the width of 50–450 nm and the length of over 15 μm were obtained by the crystallization during the polymerization. The fibrillar crystals possessed high crystallinity and the molecular chains aligned perpendicular to the long axis of the fibrillar crystals. Plate-like crystals were initially formed by the crystallization of oligomers, and then they changed to the fibrillar crystals via the formation of bundle-like crystals after 1 h. Molecular weight increased by the further polymerization in the crystals. Based on these results, one-pot preparation of the fibrillar POAB crystals was examined by the polymerization of 4-acetoxybenzaldehyde and 4-aminobenzoic acid. The polymerization at 180 °C for 2 h and then at 350 °C for 6 h afforded the fibrillar crystals with a small amount of the ribbon-like crystals. Although the side-reaction to generate the p-benzamide sequences was not completely depressed, the sequence of heating in which 180 °C for the formation of the azomethine linkage and then 350 °C for the formation of the ester linkage was preferable to prepare the fibrillar POAB crystals. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010

The preparation of poly[2,6-(1,4-phenylene)-benzobisimidazole] (PPBI) nanofibers was examined using the crystallization of oligomers during isothermal polymerization of self-polymerizable 2-(1,4-carbophenoxyphenyl)-5,6-diaminobenzimidazole. The polymerization was carried out at 350 °C at a concentration of 1wt.-% for 6 h in three kinds of solvent. The solvent influenced the morphology of PPBI precipitates significantly, and PPBI nanofiber networks were successfully formed in DBT, of which the width ranged from 30 to 110 nm. Molecules were aligned along the long axis of nanofibers. A fibrillar morphology with molecular orientation is ideal for high performance materials such as reinforcements, non-woven fabrics and so on. The nanofiber networks exhibit the highest thermal stability.

Synthesis of poly[oxy-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-phenylene)-(1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-1,4-phenylene] (F-PEOz) was examined by nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-pentafluorophenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole (HPOz). Only low molecular weight F-PEOz or crosslinked insoluble polymers were obtained by the solution polymerization with bases. In contrast, thermally induced solid-state polymerization of HPOz potassium salts at 180°C for 1 h gave fully soluble F-PEOz with the yield of 84% and its reduced viscosity was 0.66 dL g−1. The longer polymerization time gave insoluble polymers due to the crosslinking reaction even in solid state. The solid-state polymerization did not undergo topochemically and it proceeded in an amorphous state. The crosslinking reaction was slightly inhibited by the solid-state polymerization. F-PEOz exhibited excellent solubility, high Tg of 246°C and good thermal stability. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010

Morphological control of poly(2,5-benzimidazole) (PBI) was examined by reaction-induced phase separation of oligomers during polymerization to prepare nanofibers. Three monomers, 3,4-diaminobenzoic acid (DABA), 3,4-diacetoamidebenzoic acid (DAcBA) and phenyl 3,4-diaminobenzoate (PDAB), were used to synthesize PBI. Polymerizations were carried out at 350 °C in a mixture of dibenzyltoluene isomers. Polymerization of DABA yielded spheres with plate-like crystals on their surface. Polymerization of DAcBA yielded almost no precipitates because of the high solubility of DAcBA oligomers. By contrast, polymerization of PDAB yielded aggregates of PBI nanofibers (of which the average diameter was ∼60 nm), which resembled nonwoven fabrics. These fibers were formed by precipitation of (2,5-benzimidazole) oligomers and their subsequent polymerization into a developing crystal structure. The structure of the monomer significantly influenced the morphology of the PBI product, and PDAB was preferable for the preparation of PBI nanofibers. The temperature of 10% N2 weight loss in these nanofibers was in the range of 634–644 °C and they were thermally stable. The network aggregates of poly(2,5-benzimidazole) nanofibers were prepared by the polymerization of phenyl 3,4-diaminobenzoate at 350 °C in a mixture of dibenzyltoluene isomers. The average diameter of the fibers was ∼60 nm. These fibers were formed by the crystallization of oligoimidazoles and the subsequent polymerization in them.

We found the formation of 'shish-like' fibril crystals of aliphatic polyesters such as poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly({var_epsilon}-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(12-hydroxydodecanoic acid) (PHDA) and poly(16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid) (PHHA) from the sheared melt with shear rate {gamma} = 5 s{sup -1} observed by polarizing optical microscope (POM). The melting temperature T{sub m}s of obtained fibril crystals of PLLA and PCL were higher than those of spherulites and were close to the equilibrium melting temperature T{sub m}{sup 0}. The small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns from the bulk sample including fibril crystals, small amount of unoriented small crystals and amorphous showed no peaks arose from the existence of long periods in fibril crystals. These are the evidence that the observed fibril crystals consist of assemblies of a lot of extended chain crystals (ECCs). We observed the morphology of moderately extracted single strand of fibril crystals at the magnification of POM by means of scanning electron microscope. We found that macroscopic fibril crystals of PLLA with diameter d = 10 {micro}m consist of the bundle structure of microscopic fibril crystals with d = 2 {micro}m. From POM observation of the formation of fibril crystals of PLLA and PCL, we showed phase diagrams of molecular weight Mmore » and crystallization temperature T{sub c} for the formation of fibril crystals. From these phase diagrams, we evaluated a critical M and T{sub c} for the formation of fibril crystals. Moreover, from the sequential melting and crystallization experiments, it was implied that the entanglement and transesterification play an important role on the formation of fibril crystals of aliphatic polyesters.« less