Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated copolyethersulfones

The present article deals with the synthesis andcharacterization of some sulfonated copolyethersulfones. Thesynthetic approach differs from the post sulfonation approachtraditionally reported in the literature. The synthetic procedureis based on the use of sulfonated monomers which are thenreacted with previously synthesized telechelic hydoxy-ended poly(ether sulpnone)s. Combining the MALDI-TOF MS and 1H NMRanalyses, with SEC-Viscometry and TGA measurements, we demonstratea powerful tool for characterizing the chemical composition,end chains, degree of sulfonation (DS) and molecular massdistribution (MMD) of disulfonated poly(arylene ether-sulfone)copolymers. The characterization techniques allowed to determinethe exact nature of the copolymers synthesized and to revealsome interesting features about the reaction. DMA data show thatthe glass transition temperature of sulfonated copolymers withsimilar DS increase as raise their MMD. Copolymers with a DS of10–11 mol % reach a Tg of 244–246 C.