A high-performance renewable thermosetting resin derived from eugenol.

A renewable bisphenol, 4,4'-(butane-1,4-diyl)bis(2-methoxyphenol), was synthesized on a preparative scale by a solvent-free, Ru-catalyzed olefin metathesis coupling reaction of eugenol followed by hydrogenation. After purification, the bisphenol was converted to a new bis(cyanate) ester by standard techniques. The bisphenol and cyanate ester were characterized rigorously by NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies.

Di(cyanate Ester) Networks Based on Alternative Fluorinated Bisphenols with Extremely Low Water Uptake.

A new polycyanurate network exhibiting extremely low moisture uptake has been produced via the treatment of perfluorocyclobutane-containing Bisphenol T with cyanogen bromide and subsequent thermal cyclotrimerization. The water uptake, at 0.56 ± 0.

Curing of a bisphenol E based cyanate ester using magnetic nanoparticles as an internal heat source through induction heating.

We report on the control of cyclotrimerization forming a polycyanurate polymer using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in an alternating-current (ac) field as an internal heat source, starting from a commercially available monomer. Magnetic nanoparticles were dispersed in the monomer and catalytic system using sonication, and the mixture was subjected to an alternating magnetic field, causing the magnetic nanoparticles to dissipate the energy of the magnetic field in the form of heat. Internal heating of the particle/monomer/catalyst system was sufficient to start and sustain the polymerization reaction, producing a cyanate ester network with conversion that compared favorably to polymerization through heating in a conventional laboratory oven.

Synergistic physical properties of cocured networks formed from di- and tricyanate esters.

The co-cyclotrimerization of two tricyanate ester monomers, Primaset PT-30 and 1,2,3-tris(4-cyanato)propane (FlexCy) in equal parts by weight with Primaset LECy, a liquid dicyanate ester, was investigated for the purpose of exploring synergistic performance benefits. The monomer mixtures formed stable, homogeneous blends that remained in the supercooled liquid state for long periods at room temperature, thereby providing many of the processing advantages of LECy in combination with significantly higher glass transition temperatures (315-360 °C at full cure) due to the presence of the tricyanate-derived segments in the conetwork. Interestingly, the glass transition temperatures of the conetworks after cure at 210 °C, at full cure, and after immersion in 85 °C water for 96 h were all higher than predicted by the Flory-Fox equation, most significantly for the samples immersed in hot water.

Thermal control of nanostructure and molecular network development in epoxy-amine thermosets.

Epoxy-amine resins find wide application as the matrix material of high performance polymer composites because of their favorable mechanical properties, thermal properties and solvent stability. These properties result from the complicated, highly cross-linked molecular network that is characteristic of epoxy-amine thermoset polymers. The connectivity of the molecular network has a strong influence on the physical performance of the finished part.