Preparation and characterization of hyperbranched poly(ether sulfone) and its application as a coating additive for linear poly(ether sulfone)

ABSTRACT Hyperbranched poly(ether sulfone) (HPES), a suitable coating additive for improving the rheological properties of linear poly(ether sulfone) (LPES), was easily produced via polymerization of commercially available bisphenol S (A 2 monomer, BPS) and synthesized 2,4′,6‐trifluoro‐phenylsulfone (BB′ 2 monomer, TF). During this reaction, fluoro‐ or phenolic‐terminated HPES (F‐HPES or OH‐HPES) could be facilely obtained by controlling the feed mole ratios of the two monomers. The polymerization mode A 2 + BB′ 2 was confirmed by analyzing the model compounds and the degree of branching (DB) was calculated systematically. In addition, the synthesized polymers' chemical structures were exhibited by FTIR, 1 H NMR as well as 19 F NMR spectroscopy. Notably, the addition of 1 wt % HPES reduced the melt viscosity and improved the high temperature liquidity of LPES because of its unique spherical shape. Furthermore, the addition of HPES did not have a negative impact on the performance of LPES, which was attributed to the good miscibility between HPES and LPES. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43892.