A method for the manufacture of polyether ketone ketone (PEKK), including: (i) providing a 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex; (ii) purifying said 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex; (iii) reacting said 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex with at least one difunctional aromatic acyl chloride in a reaction solvent and optional additional Lewis acid to obtain a product mixture including a PEKK-Lewis acid complex; and (iv) decomplexing the PEKK-Lewis acid complex to obtain a PEKK polymer. Further, a composition including at least 40 wt. % of 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex and an anhydrous aprotic solvent or solvent mixture, characterized in that it includes less than 1 wt. %, preferably less than 0.5 wt. % and in particular less than 0.1 wt. % of molecules including xanthydrol groups and its use for the manufacture of polyether ketone ketone.

A method for manufacturing 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene, including: reacting terephthaloyl chloride with diphenyl ether in the presence of a Lewis acid, so as to obtain a product mixture including 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex, wherein the 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex is, at least partly, in the form of a precipitate; carrying out a solid/liquid separation of the product mixture to obtain a cake comprising the 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex precipitate; putting the cake in contact with a decomplexing solvent, wherein the decomplexing solvent is a protic solvent, so as to dissociate the 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex into 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene; and, recovering the 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene. Also, a method for manufacturing a polyaryletherketone polymer starting from 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene manufactured by the above method.

The present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of a poly(aryl ether) such as a poly(aryl ethersulfone) or a poly(aryl ether ketone) including the use of an organic base having a pKa of at least 10.

A method for treating a shear-thinning residue composition deriving from the synthesis of an aryl ether ketone, the residue composition including a liquid fraction and solid residues, the method including the steps of: passing said shear-thinning residue composition through a shear-generating evaporating device, between a rotating part and a stationary part; and recovering a condensed liquid fraction and separately recover concentrated solid residues.

A method for the manufacture of polyether ketone ketone (PEKK), including: providing a 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex; purifying said 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex; reacting said 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex with at least one difunctional aromatic acyl chloride in a reaction solvent and optional additional Lewis acid to obtain a product mixture including a PEKK-Lewis acid complex; and decomplexing the PEKK-Lewis acid complex to obtain a PEKK polymer. Also, a composition including at least 40 wt. % of 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex and an anhydrous aprotic solvent or solvent mixture, wherein the composition includes less than 1 wt. %, preferably less than 0.5 wt. % and in particular less than 0.1 wt. % of molecules comprising xanthydrol groups. And, the use of the composition for the manufacture of polyether ketone ketone.

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.

A continuous production device and a continuous production method which are configured to produce a polymer and can efficiently advance solution polycondensation with a simple device configuration which is easy to wash and maintenance. A continuous production device (100) includes a reactor main body (1), divider plates (6a to 6c) configured to divide the interior of the reactor main body into a plurality of reaction vessels (2a to 2d), and a raw material supply unit. The divider plate has a rotation center. Gas-phase parts of the reaction vessels adjacent to each other are communicating with each other, and liquid-phase parts of the reaction vessels adjacent to each other are communicating with each other. A reaction mixture generated in the reaction vessel sequentially moves through the reaction vessels.

A poly(phenylene ether) copolymer of 2-methyl-6-phenylphenol and a dihydric phenol having an absolute number average molecular weight of 1,000 to 10,000 grams/mole is made by polymerization of 2-methyl-6-phenylphenol and a dihydric phenol in the presence of molecular oxygen, a polymerization catalyst comprising a metal ion and at least one amine ligand, and a solvent composed of at least 95 weight percent of a C.sub.1-C.sub.3 alcohol selected from methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol. The poly(phenylene ether) copolymer can be, for example, a copolymer of 2-methyl-6-phenylphenol, 2,2-bis(3,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxyphenol)propane, and optionally 2,6-dimethylphenol. The poly(phenylene ether) copolymer finds utility in curable compositions, cured compositions, and articles.

A method for the manufacture of polyether ketone ketone (PEKK), including: (i) reacting 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene 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 comprising a PEKK-Lewis acid complex; (ii) 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 solid phase including PEKK; and (iii) separating the solid 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.

A method for treating a shear-thinning residue composition deriving from the synthesis of an aryl ether ketone, the residue composition including a liquid fraction and solid residues, the method including the steps of: passing said shear-thinning residue composition through a shear-generating evaporating device, between a rotating part and a stationary part; and recovering a condensed liquid fraction and separately recover concentrated solid residues.