Polycarbonate comprising different kinds of bonding units and process for the preparation thereof

Abstract

Disclosed is a polycarbonate comprising a plurality of aromatic polycarbonate main chains, wherein the aromatic polycarbonate main chains collectively contain specific heterounits in a specific amount in the polycarbonate main chains. The polycarbonate of the present invention can be obtained by controlling the temperature of and the residence time of the polymerizable material in the reaction zones of the reaction system so as to satisfy the specific requirements. The polycarbonate of the present invention is advantageous in that not only does it have high transparency and colorlessness as well as high mechanical strength, but also it can exhibit high non-Newtonian flow properties, so that it exhibits high molding melt fluidity. Therefore, the polycarbonate of the present invention is extremely advantageous from a commercial point of view.

We claim:  
     
       1. A polycarbonate comprising a plurality of aromatic polycarbonate main chains, each comprising recurring units each independently represented by the following formula (1):                    
       wherein Ar represents a divalent C 5 -C 200  aromatic group, wherein at least one of  said aromatic polycarbonate main chains contains , when considered together as a whole, contain therein at least one heterounit (A) and at least one heterounit (B) in said polycarbonate main chains ,  
       said heterounit (A) being represented by at least one formula selected from the group consisting of formulae of the following group (2):                    
       wherein Ar′ represents a trivalent C 5 -C 200  aromatic group, Ar″ represents a tetravalent C 5 -C 200  aromatic group, and X represents a polycarbonate chain having recurring units each represented by the formula                    
       wherein Ar is as defined above and having a weight average molecular weight of from 214 to 100,000, and  
       wherein, when said polycarbonate main chains contain a plurality of heterounits (A), the heterounits (A) are the same or different, 
       said heterounit (B) being represented by at least one formula selected from the group consisting of formulae of the following group (3):                    
       wherein Ar, Ar′ and X are as defined above and Y represents a polycarbonate chain having recurring units each represented by the formula                    
       wherein Ar is as defined above and having a weight average molecular weight of from 214 to 100,000, and 
       wherein, when said polycarbonate main chains contain a plurality of heterounits (B), the heterounits (B) are the same or different, 
       the sum of the amounts of said heterounit (A) and said heterounit (B) being from 0.01 to 0.3 mole %, based on the molar amount of said recurring units (1),  
       wherein each of said X and said Y optionally contains at least one heterounit selected from the group consisting of heterounits (A) and (B),  
       said polycarbonate having a weight average molecular weight of from 5,000 to 300,000.  
     
     
       2. The polycarbonate according to  claim 1 , wherein 85% or more of said recurring units (1) are each represented by the following formula (1′):                    
     
     
       3. The polycarbonate according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
       said recurring units (1) are each represented by the following formula (1′):                    
       said heterounit (A) is represented by at least one formula selected from the group consisting of formulae of the following group (2′):                    
       wherein X is as defined for formula (2), and  
       said heterounit (B) is represented by at least one formula selected from the group consisting of formulae of the following group (3′):                    
       wherein X is as defined for formula (2), and  
       Y is as defined for formula (3).  
     
     
       4. The polycarbonate according to any one of  claims 1  to  3 , wherein said heterounit (B) is present in an amount of from 0.1 to 30 mole %, based on the molar amount of said heterounit (A). 
     
     
       5. The polycarbonate according to any one of  claims 1  to  3 , which is produced from an aromatic dihydroxy compound and a carbonic diester by transesterification. 
     
     
       6. In a method for producing a polycarbonate which comprises subjecting to a stepwise transesterification reaction, in a plurality of reaction zones, at least one polymerizable material selected from the group consisting of: 
       a molten monomer mixture of an aromatic dihydroxy compound and a carbonic diester, and  
       a molten prepolymer obtained by a process comprising reacting an aromatic dihydroxy compound with a carbonic diester,  
       said aromatic dihydroxy compound being represented by the following formula:  
       
         
           HO—Ar—OH  
         
       
       wherein Ar represents a divalent C 5 -C 200  aromatic group, said carbonic diester being represented by the following formula:                    
       wherein Ar 3  and Ar 4  are the same or different and each represent a monovalent C 5 -C 200  aromatic group,  
       the improvement in which said stepwise transesterification reaction of the polymerizable material is performed under reaction conditions which satisfy the following formula (4):        0.2   ≤       ∑     i   =   1     n                     (     ki   ×   Ti   ×   Hi     )       ≤   1.2                   
       wherein: i represents the zone number among n reaction zones of the reaction system, 
       Ti represents the average temperature (°C.) of the polymerizable material in the i-th reaction zone,  
       Hi represents the average residence time (hr) of the polymerizable material in the i-th reaction zone,  
       ki represents a coefficient represented by the following formula (5):  
       
         
           ki=1/(a×Ti -b )   (5)  
         
       
       wherein Ti is as defined above, and a and b depend on Ti, and  
       wherein:  
       when Ti satisfies the formula:  
       
         
           Ti<240° C.,  
         
       
       a is 1.60046×10 5  and b is 0.472,  
       when Ti satisfies the formula:  
       
         
           240° C.≦Ti<260° C.,  
         
       
       a is 4×10 49  and b is 19.107, and  
       when Ti satisfies the formula:  
       
         
           260° C.≦Ti,  
         
       
       a is 1×10 122  and b is 49.082.  
     
     
       7. A polycarbonate which is the same product as produced by the method of  claim 6 .