ACTIVATED ESTERS FOR SYNTHESIS OF SULFONATED TELECHELIC POLYCARBONATES

1 . A method for the melt synthesis of a soluble telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate, comprising:

reacting a mixture comprising a dihydroxy compound, an activated ester of sulfobenzoic acid salt, and an activated carbonate to obtain the telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate;

wherein the dihydroxy compound has the structure of Formula (I):

wherein R 1 through R 8 are each independently selected from hydrogen, halogen, nitro, cyano, C 1 -C 20 alkyl, C 4 -C 20 cycloalkyl, and C 6 -C 20 aryl; and A is selected from a bond, —O—, —S—, —SO 2 —, C 1 -C 12 alkyl, C 6 -C 20 aromatic, and C 6 -C 20 cycloaliphatic;

the activated ester of sulfobenzoic acid salt has the structure of Formula (II):

wherein M is an alkali metal; and Ar″ is an aromatic ring; each Q″ is independently selected from alkoxycarbonyl, halogen, nitro, amide, sulfone, sulfoxide, imine, and cyano; n″ is a whole number from 1 up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic ring Ar″; each R″ is independently selected from alkyl, substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxy, aryl, alkylaryl having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, cyano, nitro, halogen, and carboalkoxy; and p″ is an integer from zero up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic ring Ar″ minus n″; and

the activated carbonate has the structure of Formula (III):

wherein each Q or Q′ is independently selected from alkoxycarbonyl, halogen, nitro, amide, sulfone, sulfoxide, imine, and cyano; Ar and Ar′ are independently aromatic rings; n and n‘are independently whole numbers from zero up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic rings Ar and Ar’, wherein (n+n′)≦1; p is an integer from zero up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic ring Ar minus n; p′ is an integer from zero up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic ring Ar′ minus n′; and each R or R′ is independently selected from alkyl, substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxy, aryl, alkylaryl having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, cyano, nitro, halogen, and carboalkoxy.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sulfobenzoic acid salt is the methyl salicyl ester of sulfobenzoic acid sodium salt.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reacting step occurs at a temperature of from about 200° C. to about 270° C.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reacting step occurs for a period of from about 60 minutes to about 120 minutes.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reacting step occurs at a pressure of from about 0.1 millibar to about 1500 millibar.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reacting step comprises:

heating the mixture to about 210° C. for about 60 minutes;

increasing the temperature to about 240° C., reducing the pressure to about 130 millibar, and maintaining the temperature and pressure for about 10 minutes;

increasing the temperature to about 260° C. over about 10 minutes, decreasing the pressure to about 0.2 millibar, and maintaining the temperature and pressure for about 75 minutes.

7 . A method for the synthesis of a telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate, comprising:

reacting a mixture comprising bisphenol-A, the methyl salicyl ester of sulfobenzoic acid sodium salt, bis(methylsalicyl)carbonate (BMSC), and a catalyst to obtain the telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate.

8 . A method for the melt synthesis of a telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate, comprising:

providing a mixture comprising a dihydroxy compound, an activated ester of sulfobenzoic acid salt, and an activated carbonate;

heating the mixture to a starting temperature of from about 200° C. to about 220° C. at a starting pressure of from about 0.5 bar to about 1.5 bar for a starting period of from about 50 to about 70 minutes;

increasing the temperature to a first temperature of from about 235° C. to about 245° C., reducing the pressure to a first pressure of about 120 millibar to about 140 millibar, and maintaining the temperature and pressure for a first period of from about 5 minutes to about 15 minutes; and

increasing the temperature to a second temperature of from about 255° C. to about 265° C. over a second period of from about 5 minutes to about 15 minutes, decreasing the pressure to a second pressure of from about 0.1 millibar to about 0.5 millibar, and maintaining the temperature and pressure for a third period of from about 70 minutes to about 80 minutes to obtain the telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the first temperature is about 240° C., the first pressure is about 130 millibar, the first period is about 10 minutes;

the second temperature is about 260° C., the second period is about 10 minutes, the second pressure is about 0.2 millibar; and

the third period is about 75 minutes.

10 . A method of making a soluble telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate, comprising:

heating a reaction mixture comprising a dihydroxy compound, a sulfobenzoic acid salt, and a diaryl carbonate ester to a starting temperature of from about 210° C. to about 230° C.;

holding the reaction mixture at a first temperature of from about 170° C. to about 190° C. for a first period of from about 10 to about 20 minutes at a first pressure of from about 900 millibar to about 1500 millibar;

holding the reaction mixture at a second temperature of from about 200° C. to about 220° C. for a second period of from about 20 to about 40 minutes at a second pressure of from about 100 millibar to about 200 millibar; and

holding the reaction mixture at a third temperature of from about 230° C. to about 250° C. for a third period of from about 20 to about 40 minutes at a third pressure of from about 10 millibar to about 30 millibar;

wherein the reaction mixture is heated for a total of from about 90 to about 120 minutes;

to obtain the soluble telechelic sulfonated polycarbonate.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

holding the reaction mixture at a fourth temperature of from about 260° C. to about 280° C. for a fourth period of from about 5 to about 15 minutes at a fourth pressure of from about 2 millibar to about 5 millibar; and

holding the reaction mixture at a fifth temperature of from about 300° C. to about 320° C. for a fifth period of from about 15 to about 25 minutes at a fifth pressure of from about 0.2 millibar to about 1 millibar.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the starting temperature is about 220° C.;

wherein the first temperature is about 180° C., the first period is about 15 minutes, and the first pressure is about 1000 millibar;

wherein the second temperature is about 210° C., the second period is about 30 minutes, and the second pressure is about 130 millibar

wherein the third temperature is about 240° C., the third period is about 30 minutes, and the third pressure is about 20 millibar

wherein the fourth temperature is about 270° C., the fourth period is about 10 minutes, and the fourth pressure is about 2.5 millibar; and

wherein the fifth temperature is about 310° C., the fifth period is about 20 minutes, and the fifth pressure is about 0.5 millibar.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the sulfobenzoic acid salt is the phenyl ester of 3-sulfobenzoic acid sodium salt and the diaryl carbonate ester is diphenyl carbonate.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the diaryl carbonate ester is diphenyl carbonate and the sulfobenzoic acid salt is an activated ester having the structure of Formula (II):

wherein M is an alkali metal; and Ar″ is an aromatic ring; each Q″ is independently selected from alkoxycarbonyl, halogen, nitro, amide, sulfone, sulfoxide, imine, and cyano; n″ is a whole number from 1 up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic ring Ar″; R″ is selected from alkyl, substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxy, aryl, alkylaryl having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, cyano, nitro, halogen, and carboalkoxy; and p″ is an integer from zero up to the number of replaceable hydrogen groups on the aromatic ring Ar″ minus n″.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the sulfobenzoic acid salt is the methyl salicyl ester of sulfobenzoic acid sodium salt.