Thermal stability of polybenzoxazines with lanthanum chloride and their crosslinked structures

Lanthanum chloride (LaCl₃) was incorporated into five kinds of benzoxazines by different preparation methods. The thermal stability and the structures of polybenzoxazines were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The evolved gases from the degradation process of polybenzoxazines were analyzed by FTIR. The results showed that the thermal stability and char yields of three kinds of polybenzoxazines containing LaCl₃ can be improved obviously. LaCl₃ has an important effect on the polymerization reactions of benzoxazines. More stable arylamine Mannich bridges were observed in the chemical structures of the polybenzoxazines. It is these structures that can effectively retard the volatilization of aniline derivatives and result in the improvement of the thermal stability of the polybenzoxazines.