A study of the kinetics of the microwave cure of a phenylethynyl‐terminated imide model compound and imide oligomer (PETI‐5)

The kinetic mechanism of the microwave cure of a simple phenylethynyl‐terminated imide model compound, 3,4′‐bis(4‐phenylethynyl)phthalimido]diphenyl ether (PEPA‐3,4′‐ODA) and a phenylethynyl‐terminated imide oligomer (PETI‐5, M_n 5000 g/mol) was studied. Dielectric properties of the model compound and PETI‐5 were measured in the microwave range from 0.4 GHz to 3 GHz. FTIR was used to follow the cure of the model compound (PEPA‐3,4′‐ODA), while thermal analysis (DSC) was used to follow the cure of the PETI‐5 oligomer. The changes in room temperature IR absorbance of phenylethynyl triple bonds at 2214 cm^?1 of PEPA‐3,4′‐ODA as a function of cure time were measured after cure temperatures of 300, 310, 320, and 330 °C. The changes in the glass‐transition temperature, T_g, of PETI‐5 as a function of cure time were measured after cure at 350, 360, 370, and 380 °C, respectively. The T_g 's were determined to calculated the relative extent of cure, x, of the PETI‐5 oligomer according to the DiBenedetto equation. For the model compound, the reaction followed first order kinetics, yielding an activation energy of 27.6 kcal/mol as determined by infrared spectroscopy. For PETI‐5, the reaction followed 1.5th order, yielding an activation energy of 17.1 kcal/mol for the whole cure reaction, as determined by T_g using the DiBenedetto method. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2526–2535, 2000