Synthesis and properties of cyanate mixed resin systems modified by polyphenylene oxide for production of high-frequency copper clad laminates

A redistributed polyphenylene oxide (rPPO) was synthesized and used to modify cyanate resin (CE) to give cured rPPO/CE mixed resin systems, whose molecular weight and chemical composition were analyzed by Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The mechanical, thermal conductivity and dielectric properties of these mixed resin systems were measured, with the rPPO containing 20 wt% bisphenol A (BPA) having a number-average molecular weight as low as 2653. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of cured rPPO/CE mixed resin systems was decreased significantly (lowest value − 230 °C) when compared with pure cured cyanate resin containing 1 wt% epoxy resin. The bending strength of cured resin was decreased when low molecular weight PPO (lowest value − 46.84 MPa) was employed as a substrate. These new cured rPPO/CE mixed resin systems exhibited a low dielectric constant of 3.85/107 Hz, a low dielectric loss of 2.64 × 10−3/106 Hz, and a low thermal diffusivity of 0.143 m2/s, that indicates they may be useful for the preparation of CCLs for electronics applications.