A polymer includes repeat units having the structure
wherein R
1
, R
2
, Ar
1
, Ar
2
, and Ar
3
are defined herein. The polymer can be prepared by Suzuki polycondensation. The acetal and/or ketal functionality in the polymer backbone make the backbone-cleavable in acid. The polymer is useful in applications including lithographic photoresists.
In a method of forming a polyacetal or polyketal, a specific acetal- or ketal-containing bis(aryl)acetal is coupled with itself or a comonomer in the presence of a catalyst and a base. The polymerization reaction tolerates hydroxyl and other functional groups on the bis(aryl)acetal. Among other applications, the polyacetals and polyketals are useful components of photoresist compositions.