Imperial Chemical Industries Limited

Arthur H Gilbert

Philip A Staniland

Ian R Henderson

In making polyarylethersulphones or polyaryletherketones or their thioanalogues by reaction of phenols with aromatic halogen compounds, raw polycondensation product is freed of alkali halide by adjusting its composition and/or temperature so that it dissolves at least 0.5% w/w of water and holds the polymer in solution, and then contacting it in liquid form with hot water, preferably under pressure.

Production and/or handling of aryl polyethers and thioethers polymers

A process for the dimerization of acrylonitrile to dicyanobutene and methylene-glutaronitrile under the influence of a phosphinite or phosphonite catalyst uses as solvent a mixture of proton-donating organic solvent, an aromatic hydrocarbon solvent and an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent in a specified ratio so facilitating product isolation by phase separation or liquid/liquid extraction.

Dimerization process

A cycloalkylhydroperoxide is converted to an alkane-dicarboxylic acid of the same number of carbon atoms, e.g. cyclohexylhydroperoxide to adipic acid, by reaction with nitrogen dioxide.

Growing community of inventors

Stockton on Tees, United Kingdom

Arthur H Gilbert