Abstract: Polyethers having improved barrier to oxygen are normally solid, thermoplastic polyethers having backbone repeating units of m-phenylene, p-phenylene, carbonyldiphenylene and/or sulfonyldiphenyl and pendent hydroxyl moieties. Such polyethers are prepared by reacting diglycidyl ethers of dihydric aromatic compounds such as the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A with resorcinol.

Abstract: This invention relates to an improved process for polymerizing vinyl monomers, the improvement comprising using an amine having a functionally effective amount of .alpha.-hydrogens to act as an initiator site and as a crosslinking site for development of a polymer chain. The amine compound acts as a reducing agent in a redox pair initiator system and has a sufficient number of .alpha.-hydrogens available for oxidation to render polymer chain growth from more than two locations on the amine. Through the various available .alpha.-hydrogens and thus polymer chains, the amine compound imparts crosslinking in the polymer and simultaneously acts as an initiator site for polymerization. The crosslinking is therefore produced out from the initiator/crosslinker, instead of by linking existing or growing polymer chains together. The method by which the crosslinking occurs in the present invention is thought to decrease the number of dangling chains present when conventional polymerization methods are used.