A method for manufacturing 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene, including: reacting terephthaloyl chloride with diphenyl ether in a reaction solvent and in the presence of a Lewis acid, so as to obtain a product mixture including a 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene-Lewis acid complex; contacting the product mixture with a protic solvent, so as to obtain a first phase containing the Lewis acid and a second phase containing 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene; heating at least the second phase up to a maximum temperature, followed by cooling the second phase down to a separation temperature; subjecting at least the second phase to a solid/liquid separation step at the separation temperature, so as to recover solid 1,4-bis(4-phenoxybenzoyl)benzene.

The present specification relates to a block polymer and a polymer electrolyte membrane comprising the same, a membrane-electrode assembly comprising the polymer electrolyte membrane, a fuel cell comprising the membrane-electrode assembly, and a redox flow battery comprising the polymer electrolyte membrane.

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.

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.

The present invention provides a method of preparing a polyaryletherketone copolymer (e.g. a random or block copolymer), said method comprising: polymerizing (i) a monomer system suitable for forming aryletherketone units and (ii) a comonomer in a reaction medium comprising: (a) a Lewis acid and (b) a controlling agent comprising an aromatic carboxylic acid, an aromatic sulphonic acid, or a derivative thereof; and polymers produced therefrom.

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.

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.

The invention relates to polyaryl ether ketones with low contents of residual materials, whether they are residual monomers or solvents of the synthetic process.

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.