Cure reaction and phase separation behavior of cyanate ester-cured epoxy/polyphenylene oxide blends

The cure reaction and phase separation mechanism of a cyanate ester-cured epoxy and its blends with polyphenylene oxide (PPO) were studied. An autocatalytic mechanism was observed for the epoxy and its blends. The reaction rate of the blends was higher than that of the neat epoxy at initial stage; however, the reached conversion decreased with PPO content. FTIR analysis revealed that the cyanate functional group reactions were accelerated by adding PPO and indicated that several co-reactions have occurred. This was caused by the reaction of cyanate ester with the PPO reactive chain ends. But at a later stage of cure, the reaction could not progress further due to diffusional limitation of PPO. To understand the relationship between the cure kinetics and phase separation of the blends, the morphology of the blends during cure was examined. When the homogeneous epoxy/PPO blends with low PPO content (10 phr) were cured isothermally, the blends were separated by nucleation and growth (NG) mechanism to form the PPO particle structure. But at high PPO content (30 phr), the phase separation took place via spinodal decomposition (SD). SD is favored near critical concentration and high cure rate system. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.