EFFECT OF PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE SYNTHESIS OF BISPHENOLS, MONOMERS FOR PRODUCING POLYESTER POLYMERS AND FIBRES

The effect of processing parameters on the synthesis of a series of bisphenols in the presence of an HCl:H 2 S catalyst was studied. It was shown that the reaction was highly selective at a 1:10 ketone:phenol mole ratio. The reaction rate was strongly affected by the amount of catalyst up to a 1:0.25 ketone:HCl mole ratio whereas the required amount of promoter (H 2 S) was <0.15 mol/mol of ketone. The optimum synthesis temperature fell in the range 30-50°C and depended on the structure of the synthesized bisphenol. A series of bisphenols based on various phenols and ketones were synthesized under the selected optimum conditions. The application in various industrial sectors of novel polymer composites represents a global trend in technology development. The composites comprise polyesters, primarily esters of carboxylic acids such as polycarbonates produced from bisphenols. The structural formula of a polycarbonate containing an ester of bisphenol A (BP-A), which is produced from phenol and acetone [1], is shown below.