Study on epoxy matrix modified with poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether) for application to copper clad laminate

Bromize epoxy (BEB), which is always used as the resin matrix of copper clad laminate (CCL), has faced the challenge of manufacture of a high performance CCL because of its poorer dielectric properties, inferior dimensional stability and thermal resistance, and lower toughness. In this paper we prepared a high-performance CCL by introducing poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether) (PPE) to a modified resin for solving the problems mentioned above. For solutions of PPE and BEB, the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) and cloud point curves intersect the glass transition-composition lines at a PPE content of 60–70 wt.%. Cure behavior, miscibility have been studied in blends of PPE with BEB using dicyandiamide (DICY) as a hardener, 2,4-miimidazole as an accelerator. The process of half-curing is determined by considering the influence of the process on the properties of the half-cured sheet and CCL. The results show that PPE/BEB form an apparent uniform system and the properties of the CCL prepared with the PPE/BEB is much better than that of the conventional CCL(FR-4), especially, its dielectric properties, thermal stability, flexural strength and water resistance.