The invention provides an aromatic polysulfone including an aromatic polysulfone having at least one highly polar functional group at its terminus, wherein in the aromatic polysulfone, an area of a signal attributed to the aromatic polysulfone having a highly polar functional group with respect to a total area of all signals attributed to the aromatic polysulfone in a chromatogram obtained by measurement through a gel permeation chromatography method under the following conditions is 0.1% or more and 11% or less, wherein the sample injection volume is 5 L, column is Shodex KF-803 manufactured by Showa Denko K.K., column temperature is 40 C., eluent is N,N-dimethylformamide, eluent flow rate is 0.5 mL/min, detector is ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV), and detection wavelength is 277 nm.

The invention provides an aromatic polysulfone including an aromatic polysulfone having at least one highly polar functional group at its terminus, wherein in the aromatic polysulfone, an area of a signal attributed to the aromatic polysulfone having a highly polar functional group with respect to a total area of all signals attributed to the aromatic polysulfone in a chromatogram obtained by measurement through a gel permeation chromatography method under the following conditions is 19% or more and 100% or less, wherein sample injection volume is 5 L, column is Shodex KF-803 manufactured by Showa Denko K.K., column temperature is 40 C., eluent is N,N-dimethylformamide, eluent flow rate is 0.5 mL/min, and detector is ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV).

Various examples are directed to a glucose sensor comprising a working electrode to support an oxidation reaction and a reference electrode to support a redox reaction. The reference electrode may comprise silver and silver chloride. The Glucose sensor may also comprise an anti-mineralization agent positioned at the reference electrode to reduce formation of calcium carbonate at the reference electrode.

The present invention relates to a method for producing thermoplastic aromatic polysulfone resin, in which a polymerization reaction is performed in an organic solvent by using compound (A), a dihalogeno compound represented by Formula (I), compound (B), a divalent phenol represented by Formula (II), and compound (C), an alkali metal carbonate, at a charging molar ratio satisfying the following Formulae (1) to (3): (1) 0.900<(A)/(B)<0.990; (2) {(A)/(B)}0.02<(C)/(B)<{(A)/(B)}+0.01; and (3) (C)/(B)<1.00, ##STR00001##
In Formulae (I) and (II), R.sup.1 to R.sup.4 represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, X and X represent a halogen atom, Y represents one or more groups selected from the group consisting of SO.sub.2, C(CH.sub.3).sub.2, CH.sub.2, O and CO, or a single bond, and n1, n2, n3 and n4 represent an integer of 0 to 4.

Multicomponent copolymers including two or more types of repeat units is presented. In one example, the multicomponent copolymer includes at least one repeat unit AC having a structure (I), at least one repeat unit DC having a structure (II), and at least one repeat unit BC having a structure (III) or (V). The multicomponent copolymer may be cross-linked via a cross-linking agent. A polymer blend including the multicomponent copolymer or a cross-linked copolymer and a second polymer is also provided. The multicomponent copolymer may be a random or a block copolymer. The structural units of the multicomponent copolymers provide improved, tunable properties, such as improved biocompatibility and hydrophilicity, protein fouling, and mechanical properties, to the copolymers and/or the membranes fabricated from the copolymers.

Structural adhesive films are presented which comprise branched or networked polymers which are the reaction product of one or more polyether sulfone polymers, which may include amine-terminated polyether sulfone polymers and/or hydroxy-terminated polyether sulfone polymers, with epoxy-functional chemical species including the reaction product of one or more first polyepoxides with an amine-terminated branched polytetrahydrofuran polymer. The structural adhesive films may possess high strength, holding power and durability in high-temperature applications.

The present invention relates to an ion conductor, a method for producing the same, and an ion exchange membrane, a polymer electrolyte membrane and a fuel cell including the same. The ion conductor includes a repeat unit represented by the following Formula 1, and a repeat unit represented by the following Formula 2 or a repeat unit represented by the following Formula 5. Formulae 1, 2 and 3 are described as in the Detailed Description of the Invention. The ion conductor contains a hydrocarbon-based block copolymer which has an easily changeable structure because it includes a hydrophilic region and a hydrophobic region, wherein characteristics of the block copolymer and the ion conductor can be easily regulated through control over the structure of the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region, and ion conductivity and durability of the ion conductor are improved within the whole humidity range through micro-phase separation between the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region which are structurally controlled.

Described herein are water desalination membranes and methods of desalinating water. Sulfonated poly(arylene ether) polymers are also disclosed, including those comprising one or more sulfonate groups at various points along the polymer chain. The polymers may be used as at least a portion of a water desalination membrane. The polymers described herein are useful for preventing transport of aqueous ionic species (e.g., Na.sup.+ and Cl.sup.) across a membrane made from the polymers while allowing water to pass. Chlorine-stable polymers are described, as well as polymers exhibiting good performance for rejecting monovalent cations in the presence of polyvalent cations.

The present invention relates to functionalized poly(aryl ether sulfones) (PAES) polymers (P1) and to the process for preparing the PAES polymers (P1). The present invention also relates to a method for preparing block copolymers (P2) using the functionalized poly(aryl ether sulfones) (PAES) polymers (P1) and to the block copolymers (P2) themselves.

A polymer including a hydrophilic block and a hydrophobic block, wherein the hydrophilic block includes a unit derived from a compound represented by Chemical Formula 1, and the hydrophobic block includes a unit derived from a fluorine-containing compound, a polymer separator including the same, and a membrane electrode assembly, a fuel cell and a redox flow battery including the same.