Poly(bisphenol A)cyanurate network modified with poly(butylene glycol adipate). Thermal and mechanical properties

A poly(bisphenol A)cyanurate (PCy) network was modified by a hydroxy-terminated oligoester, poly(butylene glycol adipate), PBGA, by polycyclotrimerization of bisphenol A dicyanate in the presence of the oligoester. The modified networks with PBGA content from 5 to 20% (w/w) were characterized by a combination of FTIR, DSC, TMA, TGA, impact testing and sol-gel analysis. It has been established that almost whole of the PBGA was chemically incorporated into the PCy network structure and that the higher the content of PBGA, the stronger the interaction between the components. It is shown that introducing PBGA does not drastically reduce thermal characteristics (temperature of the thermal degradation onset and glass transition temperature) of the PCy network while the impact properties are improved significantly. It is suggested that the modified PCy can be successfully used simultaneously at high temperatures and high loading. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.