Patent attributes
A polyethersulfone composition is disclosed which comprises structural units derived from bisphenol-A and 4,4′-biphenol, the structural units derived from 4,4′-biphenol being present in an amount corresponding to greater than 65 mole percent based on total moles of structural units derived from diphenolic monomers, wherein the polyethersulfone has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of at least 54,000 grams per mole as measured by gel permeation chromatography. The polyethersulfone compositions of the invention display outstanding impact strength as measured using ASTM D256. Surprisingly, the polyethersulfone compositions of the invention show enhanced impact strength relative to known polyethersulfones such as RADEL R, a commercially available polyethersulfone engineering thermoplastic comprised of structural units derived from a dihalodiarylsulfone and 4,4′-biphenol and having a Notched Izod impact strength of about 700 Joules per meter.