POLY(ARYLENE ETHER) BLOCK COPOLYMER COMPOSITIONS, METHODS, AND ARTICLES

1 . A method of preparing a poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer, comprising reacting a poly(arylene ether) comprising a hydroxy group, a hydroxy-terminated polyester, and an activated aromatic carbonate.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said reacting comprises melt reacting.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said reacting comprises reacting in a solvent.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether) comprises repeating structural units having the formula

wherein for each structural unit, each Z 1 is independently halogen, unsubstituted or substituted C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbyl with the proviso that that the hydrocarbyl group is not tertiary hydrocarbyl, C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbylthio, C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbyloxy, or C 2 -C 12 halohydrocarbyloxy wherein at least two carbon atoms separate the halogen and oxygen atoms; and each Z 2 is independently hydrogen, halogen, unsubstituted or substituted C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbyl with the proviso that that the hydrocarbyl group is not tertiary hydrocarbyl, C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbylthio, C 1 -C 12 hydrocarbyloxy, or C 2 -C 12 halohydrocarbyloxy wherein at least two carbon atoms separate the halogen and oxygen atom.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether) comprises 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, or a combination thereof.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether) has an intrinsic viscosity of about 0.04 to about 0.6 deciliter per gram at 25° C. in chloroform.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether) has, on average, about 0.5 to 1 aromatic hydroxy group per chain.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether) has, on average, greater than 1 aromatic hydroxy group per chain.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydroxy-terminated polyester comprises

ester repeating units having the structure

wherein each occurrence of R 12 is independently C 2 -C 12 alkylene, each occurrence of R 13 is independently C 2 -C 12 hydrocarbylene, each occurrence of R 14 is independently C 2 -C 6 alkylene; and

a terminal hydroxy group.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydroxy-terminated polyester is a polyester diol having the structure

wherein each occurrence of R 12 is independently C 2 -C 12 alkylene, each occurrence of R 13 is independently C 2 -C 12 hydrocarbylene, each occurrence of R 14 is independently C 2 -C 6 alkylene, each occurrence of R 5 is independently C 2 -C 12 alkylene, m is 2 to about 100, each occurrence of p is independently 1 to about 50, and q is 0 to about 10.

11 . The method of clam 1 , wherein the hydroxy-terminated polyester is a polyester diol is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate diols, polybutylene terephthalate diols, polycyclohexylene terephthalate diols, polyethylene adipate diols, polybutylene adipate diols, polycyclohexylene adipate diols, polycaprolactone diols, and mixtures thereof.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydroxy-terminated polyester is a polycaprolactone diol.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydroxy-terminated polyester has a number average molecular weight of about 500 to about 10,000 atomic mass units.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activated aromatic carbonate is selected from the group consisting of bis(o-chlorophenyl) carbonate, bis(o-nitrophenyl) carbonate, bis(o-acetylphenyl) carbonate, bis(o-phenylketonephenyl) carbonate, bis(o-formylphenyl) carbonate, bis(methyl salicyl) carbonate, and mixtures thereof.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activated aromatic carbonate is bis(methyl salicyl) carbonate.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activated aromatic carbonate is used in an amount of about 0.5 to about 2 moles per two moles of total hydroxy groups contributed by the poly(arylene ether) and the polyester.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of the poly(arylene ether) to the hydroxy-terminated polyester is about 1:10 to about 10:1.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer is a diblock copolymer, a triblock copolymer, a linear multiblock copolymer having more than three blocks, or a radial teleblock copolymer.

19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer is a poly(arylene ether)-polyester-poly(arylene ether) triblock copolymer.

20 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising melt reacting an endcapping agent with the poly(arylene ether), the hydroxy-terminated polyester, and the activated aromatic carbonate.

21 . A poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer prepared by the method of claim 1 .

22 . A method of preparing a poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer, comprising melt reacting a poly(arylene ether) comprising a hydroxy group, a polyester diol, and bis(methyl salicyl) carbonate;

wherein the poly(arylene ether) has an intrinsic viscosity of about 0.04 to about 0.2 deciliters per gram at 25° C. in chloroform and comprises 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, or a combination thereof;

wherein the polyester diol is a polycaprolactone diol having a number average molecular weight of about 500 to about 10,000 atomic mass units;

wherein the weight ratio of the poly(arylene ether) to the polyester diol is about 1:3 to about 6:1; and

wherein the activated aromatic carbonate is used in an amount of about 0.5 to about 2 moles per two moles of total hydroxy groups contributed by the poly(arylene ether) and the polyester diol.

23 . A poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer prepared by the method of claim 22 .

24 . A poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer, comprising:

a poly(arylene ether) block;

a hydroxy-terminated polyester block; and

a carbonate group linking the poly(arylene ether) block and the hydroxy-terminated polyester block.

25 . A poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer, consisting of:

at least one poly(arylene ether) block;

at least one hydroxy-terminated polyester block; and

at least one carbonate group linking the poly(arylene ether) block and the hydroxy-terminated polyester block.

26 . A poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer, comprising:

a poly(arylene ether) block having an intrinsic viscosity of about 0.04 to about 0.2 deciliters per gram at 25° C. in chloroform and comprising 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, or a combination thereof;

a polycaprolactone diol block having a number average molecular weight of about 500 to about 10,000 atomic mass units; and

a carbonate group linking the poly(arylene ether) block and the poly(alkylene ether) block.

27 . A poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer, consisting of:

at least one poly(arylene ether) block having an intrinsic viscosity of about 0.04 to about 0.2 deciliters per gram at 25° C. in chloroform and comprising 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether units, or a combination thereof;

at least one polycaprolactone diol block having a number average molecular weight of about 500 to about 10,000 atomic mass units;

at least one carbonate group linking the poly(arylene ether) block and the poly(alkylene ether) block; and

optionally, at least one endcap derived from an encapping agent.

28 . An article comprising the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer of claim 21 .

29 . An article comprising the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer of claim 23 .

30 . An article comprising the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer of claim 24 .

31 . An article comprising the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer of claim 25 .

32 . An article comprising the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer of claim 26 .

33 . An article comprising the poly(arylene ether)-polyester block copolymer of claim 27 .