Phillips Petroleum Company

Rex L Bobstein

Carlton Edwin Ash

Jon F Geibel

Owen H Decker

Darryl R Fahey

Dwayne R Senn

A random copolymer composed of at least one arylene sulfide segment and at least one arylene aulfide sulfone segment is prepared by contacting at least one dihaloaromatic sulfide having a formula of X--Ar(R).sub.n --S--Ar.sup.1 (R.sup.1).sub.n --X.sup.1, with a mixture comprising at least one sulfur source and at least one dihaloaromatic sulfone having a formula of X.sup.2 --Ar.sup.2 (R.sup.2).sub.n --S(O.sub.2)--Ar.sup.3 (R.sup.3).sub.n --X.sup.3 in the presence of a polar organic compound under polymerization conditions to synthesize a random copolymer; where X, X.sup.1, X.sup.2, and X.sup.3 can be the same or different halogens and are each selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine; Ar, Ar.sup.1, Ar.sup.2, and Ar.sup.3 are each an arylene group; R, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 are each selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydrocarbyl radical in which the hydrocarbyl radical can be alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkenyl, and aryl radicals; and n is a whole number from 0 to 4. The total number of carbon atoms in each molecule represented by X--Ar(R).sub.n --S--Ar.sup.1 (R.sup.1).sub.n --X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 --Ar.sup.2 (R.sup.2).sub.n --S(O.sub.2)--Ar.sup.3 (R.sup.3)--X.sup.3 is in the range of from about 12 to about 54.

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Bartlesville, OK, United States of America

Rex L Bobstein