Research on triazine reaction, heat resistant and dielectric properties of cyanate ester resin catalyzed by bisphenol AF

Abstract

Abstract Cyanate ester (CE) resins possess a wide variety of attractive features that make them suitable for both electronic and aerospace composite applications. However, high curing temperature and long curing time limit the application range of CE resins. In this study, curing reaction, heat resistant and dielectric properties of bisphenol A-based cyanate ester (BACY) resin catalyzed by bisphenol AF (BPAF) were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared, dynamic mechanical analyser and dielectric properties analyser. The incorporation of the BPAF decreased the curing temperature and showed a strong catalytic effect in cyclotrimerization reaction of BACY. BACY resin catalyzed by 4 phr BPAF at 180 °C post-cured for 5 h presented high curing degree of 92.8% and glass transition temperature of 247.4 °C. Moreover, BACY resin catalyzed by 4 phr BPAF at 180 °C post-cured for 5 h exhibited excellent dielectric properties (ε and tan δ equal to 2.87 and 0.0084) comparable to commercial modified cyanate ester resin post-cured at 200 °C for 10 h. These results suggest that catalyst BPAF possesses promising potential application in meeting low-temperature short-term curing of high-performance cyanate ester resin based wave-transparent composites.