Ring-chain interconversion in high-performance polymer systems. 2. Ring-opening polymerization-copolyetherification in the synthesis of aromatic poly(ether sulfones)

The combination of ring-closing depolymerization and ring-opening polymerization that could provide a possible means of recovering and recycling high-cost, high-performance aromatic polymer was proposed. It was reported that macrocyclic homologues of the commercial engineering thermoplastic biphenol A polysulfone, 2, can be recycled not only into the standard nucleophilic synthesis of the parent polymer 2 but also into the synthesis of a co-poly(ether sulfone) (3) based on 4,4'-biphenol. This paper presents a new depolymerization/repolymerization approach to the recycling of aromatic poly(ether sulfone)s.