Syntheses of Branched Poly(ether Ketone)s With Pendant Functional Groups Based on 1,1,1-Tris(4-Hydroxyphenyl)ethane

1,1,1-Tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane, THPE, was silylated with chlorotrimethylsilane and the silylated THPE was polycondensed with 1,4-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)benzene, BFBB, in dry N-methylpyrrolidone. The resulting poly(ether ketone) had a moderate molecular weight and contained a significant fraction of cyclic oligomers and polymers. The pendant trimethylsiloxy group allowed an in situ alkylation with chloropropionitrile, allylbromide, 3,4-dichlorobenzyl chloride, 4-nitrobenzyl bromide, 1,3-propane sultone and 1,4-butane sultone. The latter alkylating agents yielded poly(ether ketone)s having pendant sulfonic acid groups. Further functional groups were introduced by acylation of the pendant free OH-group (resulting from the hydrolysis of the Me3SiO group) with acetic anhydride, methacrylic anhydride, cinnamoyl chloride and undecenoyl chloride.