A method of making a shaped article comprising printing layers of a polymer composition comprising at least one PEEK-PEmEK copolymer having R.sub.PEEK and R.sub.PEmEK repeat units in a molar ratio R.sub.PEEK/R.sub.PEmEK ranging from 95/5 to 45/55, the polymer composition optionally including at least one reinforcing filler, at least one additive, or a combination thereof, and shaped articles obtained from the method. Also described are methods of making the PEEK-PEmEK copolymer and methods of making the polymer composition.

Described herein are poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK) polymers having improved processability. It was surprisingly discovered that by selectively controlling the relative amounts of reactants during the synthesis, PEKK polymers having unexpectedly lower melt viscosities can be obtained. More particularly, by selectively controlling the relative amounts of monomers used to form recurring units of the PEKK polymer, in conjunction with selective control of other reaction components, the resulting PEKK polymers had reduced viscosities, relative to PEKK polymers synthesized by using tradition reaction schemes (traditional PEKK polymers). By providing PEKK polymers with lower melt viscosities, the PEKK polymers described herein have improved processability.

A method for manufacture of PEEK-PEDEK copolymers is disclosed along with copolymers formed by the method and their use. The method includes a nucleophilic polycondensation of a mixture of dihydroxybenzene and dihydroxybiphenyl with 4,4-dihalobenzophenone in a reaction mixture comprising sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, in an aromatic sulfone solvent, at a reaction temperature rising to a temperature from 280 C. to 330 C. immediately prior to the addition of a reaction-stopping salt, such as LiCI or Li.sub.2SO.sub.4, to the reaction mixture. Further organic dihalide is subsequently added to the reaction mixture for end-capping of the copolymer. The resulting copolymer has reduced chain branching and reduced melt viscosity at low shear rate compared to prior art copolymer of comparable molecular mass.

Provided is a method that can stably produce polyaryletherketone that has a high degree of polymerization and can be easily recovered. The method for producing polyaryletherketone includes: a polycondensation step of carrying out desalting polycondensation in a reaction solvent; and a cooling step of cooling a reaction mixture after desalting polycondensation is completed. When the method is implemented, the polycondensation step is carried out in a hydrophilic solvent under pressurized conditions, and the polymerization temperature in the polycondensation step is at or above the boiling point of the hydrophilic solvent at ambient pressure. In addition, the polymer content in terms of monomers at the time of cooling in the cooling step is from 1 part by mass to 50 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the hydrophilic solvent in the reaction mixture.

The present invention provides a continuous polymerization apparatus capable of simply and efficiently separating a polymer and solid matter from a reaction mixture while having an apparatus configuration conducive to washing and maintenance, and a continuous production method for a polymer. A continuous polymerization apparatus (100) includes a plurality of reaction vessels (1a to 1c), wherein the plurality of reaction vessels are configured such that reaction mixtures (9a to 9c) successively move through each reaction vessel; in the plurality of reaction vessels, gas phase parts formed above the reaction mixture communicate with one another; and the continuous polymerization apparatus includes a washing part (5), the washing part configured to separate a solid included in the reaction mixture by sedimentation and to perform countercurrent washing.

Provided are a continuous production method and a continuous production apparatus utilizing the solution polycondensation for aromatic cyclic oligomers, which achieve a good space-time yield and are inexpensive and simple. The continuous production method includes: (a) supplying a polymerization solvent and a reaction raw material to a continuous production apparatus; (b) performing a polymerization reaction in the reaction vessels to form a reaction mixture; (c) removing water in gas phase parts of the reaction vessels from the reaction vessels; and (d) successively moving the reaction mixture to each of the reaction vessels; the steps (a), (b), (c), and (d) being performed in parallel; wherein an amount of the polymerization solvent in the reaction vessel positioned furthest downstream in a movement direction of the reaction mixture is not less than 1 L and not greater than 50 L per 1 mol of arylene units in the reaction raw material.

A method for the manufacture of polyether ketone ketone (PEKK), including the steps of: reacting 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoylbenzene) and/or diphenylether with at least one difunctional aromatic acyl chloride, in a reaction solvent and in presence of a Lewis acid, to obtain a product mixture including a PEKK-Lewis acid complex; contacting the obtained product mixture with a protic solvent, so as to form a dispersion that includes a liquid phase including Lewis acid and a second phase, e.g., a solid phase, including PEKK; and separating the second phase from the liquid phase by centrifugal filtration, so as to recover a crude PEKK and a effluent containing Lewis acid, wherein step (iii) includes a step of centrifugal filtration.

Provided are a method for preparing a polyetherketoneketone and a polyetherketoneketone prepared thereby, wherein, at the time of a polymerization reaction, nitrogen gas is blown into a liquid reaction medium while stirring, thereby quickly removing hydrochloric acid, which is a by-product generated during the reaction, and preventing aggregation of resin particles, thus suppressing the generation of scales.

A method for manufacturing 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene, including: providing terephthaloyl chloride, diphenyl ether, a solvent and a Lewis acid, wherein the terephthaloyl chloride is of a purity grade such that, 10 minutes after introducing it at a reference concentration of 6.5 wt. % into said solvent, at a temperature of 20 C., a solution is obtained having a turbidity of less than 500 NTU; mixing the terephthaloyl chloride, the diphenyl ether and the solvent so as to make a reactant mixture; adding the Lewis acid to the reactant mixture so as to effect the reaction of the terephthaloyl chloride with the diphenyl ether; recovering a product mixture comprising a 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex.

Provided is a continuous production apparatus and a continuous production method capable of preventing the countercurrent of evaporation components generated at the time of polymerization so that continuous solution polymerization reactions can progress reliably. A continuous production apparatus (100) includes a housing chamber (2) configured to house a plurality of reaction vessels (1a to 1d); wherein a reaction mixture is formed by subjecting monomers to a polymerization reaction in a solvent in at least one of the reaction vessels; the reaction vessels communicate with one another via a gas phase part (4); the reaction vessels are sequentially connected; the reaction mixture successively moves to each of the reaction vessels; and the housing chamber includes a baffle (9) configured to narrow the cross-sectional area of the gas phase part at the boundary between at least one pair of adjacent reaction vessels or in the vicinity of the boundary.