Synthesis and characterisation of poly(arylene sulfides), 6. Synthesis of block copoly(arylene sulfides)

Novel ABA block copolymers of poly(1,4‐phenylene sulfide) (PPS(A)) and poly‐(2‐methyl‐1,4‐phenylene sulfide) (PMPS(B)) were synthesised from bis(4‐bromophenyl) sulfone (BBS) by sequential reaction with copper(I) 4‐bromo‐2‐methylbenzenethiolate (CBMT) and copper(I) 4‐bromobenzenethiolate (CBT). PPS, PMPS and PPS/PMPS random copolymers were also prepared to aid block copolymer characterisation. Polymer fractions were studied by hot‐stage microscopy to evaluate melting ranges, and molar masses were computed from bromine end‐group concentrations and from gel permeation chromatography studies. Compositional analyses were made by IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy leading to confirmation of the block copolymer structure and to evaluation of the degrees of polymerisation of the individual blocks.