Copolymers of Vinyl-Containing Benzoxazine with Vinyl Monomers as Precursors for High Performance Thermosets

A benzoxazine containing a vinyl group (P-4va) was prepared by the reaction of phenol, 4-vinylaniline, and paraformaldehyde. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study revealed that ring-opening polymerization of the benzoxazine and chain polymerization of the vinyl group occurred in the same temperature range. When 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile was added as a radical initiator to P-4va, however, only the vinyl groups were polymerized at lower temperature, giving oligo(P-4va) that contains pendent benzoxazine units. Radical copolymerization of P-4va with various vinyl monomers such as styrene, methyl methacrylate (MMA), and n-butyl acrylate (BuA) was examined. The chemical structure of the copolymers was confirmed by FT-IR and H-1-NMR to be one of polyolefins bearing benzoxazine units as the pendant groups. The weight-average molecular weights of the copolymers determined by size exclusion chromatography were to be in the range of 1900-51,500 depending on the comonomers. DSC of the copolymers showed that the maxima of the exothermic peaks corresponding to the ring-opening polymerization of the pendent benzoxazine units were observed in the temperature range of 229-250 degrees C. Thermal cure up to 240 degrees C of the copolymer films afforded homogenous transparent films with improved thermal properties. Tough cured film was obtained by the copolymerization with MMA, while a tough and flexible film was obtained by the copolymerization with BuA.