Synthesis and characterization of poly(epoxy‐imide) crosslinked networks

Poly(epoxy imide)s were prepared by a reaction between a hydroxyl‐group‐containing soluble copolyimide and commercial epoxy resins at 220 °C for 2 h. Poly(epoxy imide) thin films exhibited higher thermal stability and lower dielectric constants than a commercial flip‐chip package material (U300). The thermal stabilities of the poly(epoxy imide)s were 1.4–2.0 times higher than that of U300. The thermal stability increased with increasing crosslink density and with decreasing bulky CF₃ groups (which were easily decomposable). The dielectric constants of the poly(epoxy imide)s were 1.1–1.3 times lower than that of U300, and this is highly desirable for the microelectronic packaging industry. The dielectric constant dramatically decreased when bulky CF₃ groups were added and when the functionalities of epoxy resins decreased. The residual stresses, slopes in the cooling curves, and glass‐transition temperatures of the poly(epoxy imide)s were measured with a thin‐film stress analyzer. Low residual stresses and slopes in the cooling curves were achieved with a higher crosslink density. However, in the presence of bulky CF₃ groups, the copolyimide backbone structure did not affect the residual stress values. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4293–4302, 2004     

High‐Tg and low‐dielectric epoxy thermosets based on a propargyl ether‐containing phosphinated benzoxazine

A propargyl ether‐containing benzoxazine (4) was prepared from a potassium carbonate‐catalyzed nucleophilic substitution of propargyl bromide and a phenolic OH‐containing benzoxazine (3) , which was prepared from 1‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐1‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐1‐(6‐oxido‐6H ‐dibenz <c,e><1,2> oxaphosphorin‐6‐yl)ethane (1) by a three‐step procedure. The curing reactions of (4) were monitored by IR and DSC. A reaction mechanism was proposed based on the observation. Benzoxazines (3) and (4) were applied as epoxy curing agents. The microstructure and the structure‐property relationship of the resulting thermosets are discussed. The double‐strand structure in (4) ‐cured epoxy thermosets afforded higher crosslinking density, and led to higher thermal properties. In addition, the (4) ‐cured epoxy thermosets possess half the amount of highly polar hydroxyl groups than those of the (3) ‐cured epoxy thermosets, resulting in a lower dielectric constant, dissipation factor, and water absorption. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1359–1367     

Low dielectric thermoset. II. Synthesis and properties of novel 2,6‐dimethyl phenol–dipentene epoxy

A 2,6‐dimethyl phenol–dipentene adduct was synthesized from dipentene (DP) and 2,6‐dimethyl phenol, and then a 2,6‐dimethyl phenol–DP epoxy was synthesized from the reaction of the resultant 2,6‐dimethyl phenol–DP adduct and epichlorohydrin. The proposed structures were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, elemental analysis, mass spectra, NMR spectra, and epoxy equivalent weight titration. The synthesized 2,6‐dimethyl phenol–DP adduct was cured with 4,4‐diamino diphenyl methane, phenol novolac, 4,4‐diamino diphenyl sulfone, and 4,4‐diamino diphenyl ether. The thermal properties of the cured epoxy resins were studied with differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, dielectric analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. These data were compared with those for the bisphenol A epoxy system. The cured 2,6‐dimethyl phenol–DP epoxy exhibited a lower dielectric constant (ca. 3.1), a lower dissipation factor (ca. 0.065), a lower modulus, lower thermal stability (5% degradation temperature = 366–424 °C), and lower moisture absorption (1.21–2.18%) than the bisphenol A system but a higher glass‐transition temperature (ca. 173–222 °C) than that of bisphenol A system. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 4084–4097, 2002     

Synthesis and properties of low‐dielectric‐constant polyimides with introduced reactive fluorine polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes

A high‐performance, low‐dielectric‐constant polyimide (PI) nanocomposite from poly(amic acid) (PAA) cured with a reactive fluorine polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) isomer was successfully synthesized. The features of this reactive fluorine POSS isomer [octakis(dimethylsiloxyhexafluoropropylglycidyl ether)silsesquioxane (OFG)] provided two important approaches (containing fluorine or being porous in the polymer matrix) of reducing the dielectric constant of PI. This reactive POSS isomer had an average of four epoxy groups and four fluorine groups on the POSS cage, and the epoxy groups could be cured with PAA to form a network framework of a PI/POSS nanocomposite. The PI/OFG nanocomposite had a high crosslinking density, high porosity (24.3%), high hydrophobicity, and low polarizability. These properties enhanced the thermal (glass‐transition temperature ～ 362 °C) and dielectric (dielectric constant ～2.30) properties of PI more than other POSS derivatives introduced into the PI backbone. A large number of small POSS particles (<10 nm) were embedded inside the PI matrix when the OFG content was low, whereas interconnected POSS aggregation domains were observed when the OFG content was high. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5391–5402, 2006     

A simple approach toward low‐dielectric polyimide nanocomposites: Blending the polyimide precursor with a fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

This article describes a new and simple method for preparing polyimide nanocomposites that have very low dielectric constants and good thermal properties: simply through blending the polyimide precursor with a fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane derivative, octakis(dimethylsiloxyhexafluoropropyl) silsesquioxane (OF). The low polarizability of OF is compatible with polyimide matrices, such that it can improve the dispersion and free volume of the resulting composites. Together, the higher free volume and lower polarizability of OF are responsible for the lower dielectric constants of the PI‐OF nanocomposites. This simple method for enhancing the properties of polyimides might have potential applicability in the electronics industry. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6296–6304, 2008     

Photoinitiated curing of mono‐ and bifunctional epoxides by combination of active chain end and activated monomer cationic polymerization methods

Photoinitiated cationic polymerization of mono‐ and bifunctional epoxy monomers, namely cyclohexeneoxide (CHO), 4‐epoxycyclohexylmethyl‐3′,4′‐epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate (EEC), respectively by using sulphonium salts in the presence of hydroxylbutyl vinyl ether (HBVE) was studied. The real‐time FTIR spectroscopic, gel content determination, and thermal characterization studies revealed that both hydroxyl and vinyl ether functionalities of HBVE take part in the polymerization. During the polymerization, HBVE has the ability to react via both active chain end (ACE) and activated monomer mechanisms through its hydroxyl and vinyl ether functionalities, respectively. Thus, more efficient curing was observed with the addition of HBVE into EEC‐containing formulations. It was also demonstrated that HBVE is effective in facilitating the photoinduced crosslinking of monofunctional epoxy monomer, CHO in the absence of a conventional crosslinker. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4914–4920, 2007     

Flame‐retardant epoxy resins with high glass‐transition temperatures from a novel trifunctional curing agent: Dopotriol

A novel phosphorus‐containing trifunctional novolac (dopotriol) was synthesized through the addition reaction of 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene 10‐oxide and rosolic acid. The structure of dopotriol was confirmed with NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. The dopotriol was blended with phenol novolac in the ratios of 10/0, 8/2, 6/4, 4/6, 2/8, and 0/10 to serve as a curing agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A. Thermal properties, such as the glass‐transition temperature, thermal decomposition temperature, and flame retardancy, moisture absorption, and dielectric properties of the cured epoxy resins were evaluated. The activity and activation energy of curing were studied with the methods of Kissinger and Ozawa by dynamic differential scanning calorimetry scans. The glass‐transition temperatures of the cured epoxy resins were 138–159 °C, increasing with the phosphorus content. This is rarely seen in the literature after the addition of a flame‐retardant element. The flame retardancy increased with the phosphorus content, and a UL‐94 V‐0 grade was achieved with a phosphorus content of 1.87%. Similar dielectric properties and moisture absorption were observed for these phosphorus‐containing epoxy resins, and this implied that the addition of phosphorus to epoxy did not affect the dielectric properties and moisture absorption. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2862–2873, 2005     

The nearly constant loss,Johari‐Goldstein β‐relaxation,and α‐relaxation of 1,4‐polybutadiene

From high‐resolution dielectric spectroscopy measurements on 1,4‐polybutadiene (1,4‐PB), we show that in addition to the structural α‐relaxation and higher frequency secondary relaxations in the spectra, a nearly constant loss (NCL) is observed at shorter times/lower temperatures. The properties of this NCL are compared to those of another chemically similar polymer, 1,4‐polyisoprene. The secondary relaxations in 1,4‐PB include the well‐known Johari‐Goldstein (JG) β‐relaxation and two other higher‐frequency peaks. One of these, referred to as the γ‐relaxation, falls between the JG‐relaxation and the NCL. Seen previously by others, this γ‐relaxation in 1,4‐PB is not the JG‐process and bears no relation to the glass transition. At very low temperatures (<15 K), we confirm the existence of a very fast secondary relaxation, having a weak dielectric strength and an almost temperature‐invariant relaxation time. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 342–348, 2007     

Synthesis and characterization of rigid‐chain liquid–crystalline polymers containing laterally attached side rods

A series of rigid‐chain polymers containing different concentrations of laterally attached side rods was synthesized. These polymers exhibited liquid crystallinity even up to a maximum side rod concentration of 20 mol %. The crystallinity of the polymers, however, decreased with an increase in the side‐rod concentration. These polymers had lower dielectric constants compared with their parent polymers, that is, similar polymers, but without laterally attached side rods. A dielectric constant of 2.6 can be achieved by incorporating 10 mol % of laterally attached side rods, which is 0.5 lower than that of its parent polymer. The reduction of dielectric constant may be attributed to low crystallinity as well as the less dense packing structure of the polymers induced by the incorporation of laterally attached side rods. This series of polymers also had good thermal stability. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1288–1294, 2001     

A comparative computational study of the homolytic and heterolytic bond dissociation energies involved in the activation step of ATRP and SET‐LRP of vinyl monomers

A quantum‐chemical calculation of the homolytic and heterolytic bond dissociation energies of the model compounds of the monomer and dimer is reported. These model compounds include the dormant chloride, bromide, and iodide species for representative activated and nonactivated monomers containing electron‐withdrawing groups as well as for a nonactivated monomer containing an electron‐donor group. Two examples of sulfonyl and N‐halide initiators are also reported. The homolytic inner‐sphere electron‐transfer bond dissociation is known as atom transfer and is responsible for the activation step in ATRP. The heterolytic outer sphere single electron transfer bond dissociation is responsible for the activation step in single electron transfer mediated living radical polymerization (SET‐LRP). The results of this study demonstrated much lower bond dissociation energies for the outer sphere single electron transfer processes. These results explain the higher rate constant of activation, the higher apparent rate constant of propagation, and the lower polymerization temperature for both activated and nonactivated monomers containing electron‐withdrawing groups in SET‐LRP. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1607–1618, 2007     

Synthesis,dynamic light scattering,and luminescence properties of copolymers containing iridium(III) bisterpyridine in the side chain

Supramolecular block‐random copolymers containing [Ir(terpy)₂]³⁺ in the side chain were synthesized via postfunctionalization of a P(S‐b‐AC_terpy) block copolymer. Absorbance and emission spectra compared to a model compound show that the polymer backbone has a minor effect on the polymer absorbance but produces a larger shift for the phosphorescence signals to higher wavelength. Dynamic light scattering of the metal complex containing copolymer studied in various solvents showed monomodal aggregation with decreasing aggregate size as the solvent dielectric constant increased. The copolymer precursor P(S‐b‐AC_terpy) shows multimodal aggregation in different solvents with the major population consisting of single chains. This difference in behavior between the two polymers is attributed to the electrolytic nature of the complex and the amphiphilicity induced by the charged metal complex. Supramolecular copolymers like these will continue to have interesting self‐organizational properties and may find applications in multicomponent systems for photoinduced charge separation processes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1109–1121, 2007     

Morphology and dielectric properties of an epoxy network modified by end‐functionalized liquid polybutadiene

Epoxy resin networks modified with different functionalized liquid polybutadiene were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and dielectric thermal analysis techniques. Different morphologies were observed for these different systems, which were attributed to different interaction degrees between the components. Hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and carboxyl‐ terminated polybutadiene (CTPB) resulted in epoxy networks with two‐phase morphology that differed in rubber particle size. The use of isocyanate‐terminated polybutadiene (NCOTPB) resulted in transparent thermoset material, whose rubber domains were in the nanoscale dimension, only detected by the AFM technique. The different morphological aspects in these epoxy systems also affected the dielectric properties. The epoxy–HTPB network exhibited two low temperature relaxation peaks corresponding to two different phases present in the system, whereas the epoxy–CTPB or epoxy–NCOTPB systems, whose rubber particles are well adhered to the epoxy matrix by chemical bonds, displayed only one single low temperature relaxation peak. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4053–4062, 2004     

Enhanced dielectric response in P(VDF‐TrFE) based all‐organic nanocomposites

A nanocomposite with enhanced dielectric response is developed using poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF‐TrFE)] as matrix and Chemically modified high dielectric constant organic semiconductor—copper phthalocyanine oligomer (CuPc)—as filler. Transmission electron microscope (TEM)‐observed morphologies reveal that in the nanocomposite the average size of CuPc particles is about 25 nm [1/24 of that of CuPc in physical blend of P(VDF‐TrFE) and CuPc]. The hot‐press nanocomposite film with 15 wt % CuPc can realize a dielectric constant of 540 at 100 Hz. The enhanced dielectric response in the nanocomposite demonstrates the significance of the interface effect in raising the material responses far beyond that expected by simple mixing rules when there is a large dielectric contrast between the polymer matrix and the dielectric filler in the composite. It is also interesting to note that at high frequencies (such as 100 MHz) the nanocomposite has a dielectric constant of ～100 and this value is comparable to those of current materials used in microwave applications. At 105 °C that is near the ferroelectric‐to‐paraelectric phase transition temperature of the P(VDF‐TrFE) ferroelectric, a much higher dielectric constant (about 1200 at 100 Hz) is obtained. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 490–495, 2010     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of novel epoxy resins and cyanate esters

We synthesized a novel epoxy (dopotep) and cyanate ester (dopotcy) based on a phosphorus‐containing triphenol (dopotriol). The proposed structures were confirmed by IR, mass spectra, NMR spectra, and epoxy‐equivalent‐weight titration. The synthesized dopotep or dopotcy was copolymerized with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), 6′,6‐bis(3‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,3‐benzoxazineyl)methane (F‐a), or dicyanate ester of bisphenol A (BADCY). Thus, copolymers based on DGEBA/dopotep/diphenylmethane (ddm), F‐a/dopotep, BADCY/dopotcy, and DGEBA/dopotcy were developed. The thermal properties, dielectric properties, and flame retardancy of these copolymers were investigated. The curing kinetics of dopotep/ddm and dopotep/diamino diphenylsulfone were studied with differential scanning calorimetry. The microstructure of DGEBA/dopotcy was studied with IR. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3487–3502, 2006     

Comparative analyses of the electrical properties and dispersion level of VGCNF and MWCNT: Epoxy composites

The electrical properties and dispersion of vapor‐grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)—epoxy resin composites are studied and compared. A blender was used to disperse the nanofillers within the matrix, producing samples with concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 wt % for both nanofillers, besides the neat sample. The dispersion of the nanofillers was qualitatively analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, transmission optical microscopy, and grayscale analysis. The electrical conductivity and the dielectric constant were evaluated. The percolation threshold of MWCNT epoxy composites is lower than 0.1 wt % while for VGCNF lies between 0.1 and 0.5 wt %. The difference on the dispersion ability of the two nanofillers is due to their intrinsic characteristics. Celzard's theory is suitable to calculate the percolation threshold bounds for the VGCNF composites but not for the MWCNT composites, indicating that intrinsic characteristics of the nanofillers beyond the aspect ratio are determinant for the MWCNT composites electrical conductivity. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Flame retardant epoxy resins based on diglycidyloxymethylphenylsilane

Silicon‐containing epoxy resins were prepared from diglycidyloxymethylphenyl silane (DGMPS) and diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) by crosslinking with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM). Several DGMPS/DGEBA molar ratios were used to obtain materials with different silicon contents. Their thermal, dynamomechanical, and flame‐retardant properties were evaluated and related to the silicon content. The weight loss rate of the silicon‐containing resins is lower than that of the silicon free resin. Char yields under nitrogen and air atmospheres increase with the silicon content. The LOI (limited oxygen index) values increased from 24 for a standard commercial resin to 36 for silicon‐containing resins, demonstrating improved flame retardancy. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5580–5587, 2006     

Dielectric and thermal characterization of low density ethylene/10‐undecen‐1‐ol copolymers prepared with nickel catalysts

Ethylene and 10‐undecen‐1‐ol copolymers, prepared using a nickel complex as catalyst, were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray diffraction, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. The behavior exhibited by copolymers containing incorporated 10‐undecen‐1‐ol amounts within 0.5 and 4.6 mol % was compared with neat polyethylene. DSC revealed that a new crystalline region with lower thickness lamellae emerges in copolymers due to the side‐chains crystallization. Nevertheless, the global crystallization degree decreases due to the loss of crystallinity that occurs in a greater extent in PE‐like regions. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy detected two processes, a low activation energy process below ?20 °C related with localized mobility increasing in intensity and deviating to higher temperatures with the increase in 10‐undecen‐1‐ol amount, and a high activation energy process ascribed to the glass transition, located at higher temperatures for the different copolymers relatively to neat polyethylene. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2802–2812, 2007     

Polymeric nanocomposites containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes prepared via frontal polymerization

Frontal polymerization (FP) has been successfully applied, for the first time, to obtain polymeric nanocomposites containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) in an amine‐cured epoxy matrix. Variations of maximum temperature (T_max) and front velocity (V_f) have been studied. A comparison of these products with the corresponding materials, obtained by the classical batch polymerization technique, demonstrated that FP allows a higher degree of conversion than batch polymerization. The products have been characterized in terms of their thermal behavior with DSC analysis. SEM and X‐ray analyses revealed the morphology and the structures of the nanocomposites. The nanocomposites obtained by FP have the same characteristics of those synthesized, in much longer times, by batch polymerization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4514–4521, 2007     

Electrospinning of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene nanofibers

The electrospinning method has been employed to fabricate ultrafine nanofibers of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene for the first time with a mixture of solvents of different dielectric constants and conductivities. The possibility of producing highly oriented nanofibers from ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polymers suggests new ways of fabricating ultrastrong, porous, and single‐component nanocomposite fibers with improved properties. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 766–773, 2007     

Ionic liquids as reactive additives for the preparation and modification of epoxy networks

In this study, epoxy‐networked polymeric materials containing tributyl (ethyl) phosphonium diethyl phosphate (CYPHOS^®IL169) and trihexyl (tetradecyl) phosphonium bis 2,4,4‐(trimethyl pentyl)‐phosphinate (CYPHOS^®IL104) were developed from a mixture of epoxy prepolymer (DGEBA) and different amounts of ionic liquids (10–20–30 phr). Then, the effect of the chemical nature of ionic liquids on the final properties of epoxy networks was studied. Thus, the use of phosphonium salts as new additives led to the network with a high conversion of epoxy group (>90%), a high glass transition temperature T_g (>90 °C), adjustable in function of the counteranion and an increase of the storage modulus. In addition, the hydrophobic behavior and the thermal stability of the materials were also investigated by sessile drop method and thermogravimetric analyses. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 3463–3471