Synthesis of Polyphenylene Ether Derivatives: Estimation of Their Dielectric Constants

A series of poly(2-alkyl-6-phenylphenylene ether)s were prepared by the oxidative polymerization of 2-alkyl-6-phenylphenols. Their dielectric constants were approximately 2.5, whereas it was found that the phenyl group at the 6-position clearly increased the Q factor of the polymer compared with poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene ether), PPE. These values were qualitatively predicted from the polarizability and the molar volume calculated by the theoretical analysis of the unit structure at the HF/6-31 G* level.