Benzocyclobutene in polymer synthesis. I. Homopolymerization of bisbenzocyclobutene aromatic imides to form high-temperature resistant thermosetting resins

A series of new bisbenzocyclobutene-terminated aromatic imide monomers has been synthesized from the condensation reaction of 4-aminobenzocyclobutene and the perspective dianhydride in refluxing acetic acid/toluene. The differential scanning calorimetric studies of the foregoing monomers indicated that polymerization exotherms began at 229–250°C and reached their maxima at 258–263°C. The cured samples (250–254°C; N₂; 8 h) were surprisingly stable toward thermo-oxidative degradation; only 7–10% weight loss was observed after 200 h (in air) at 314°C (600°F). At higher temperatures (650 and 700°F), the most rigid structure was the most thermo-oxidatively stable. An approach to enhance both the final glass-transition temperature (T_g cure) and the thermo-oxidative stability of the bisbenzocyclobutene system was to dilute the cure-site density since the cure-site structure is the weakest part of the polymeric structure. Therefore, a series of bisbenzocyclobutene-terminated aromatic imide oligomers were prepared, using various aromatic amines as the chain-extending agents. Meta-phenylenediamine was apparently the most effective in the advancement of both the T_g (cure) and thermo-oxidative stability.