Preparation and properties of POSS/epoxy composites for electronic packaging applications

This paper reports the preparation and properties of polyhedral oligomer silsesquioxanes (POSS)/epoxy composites. Two compositions of POSS by volume, typically at 1% and 2% were used as filler in epoxy matrix. The composites were studied in terms of flexural, thermal and morphological properties and the results show an improvement in several properties. Flexural strength of epoxy was found to increase significantly with addition of 1 vol% and 2 vol% of POSS. Thermal stability of POSS/epoxy composites in oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres were also studied using TGA. From the thermo-oxidation analysis, it was found that POSS/epoxy composite can sustain higher temperature prior to thermal decomposition. In terms of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), the values were also found to increase with addition of POSS particles which could be attributed to the stearic hindrance of the polymer chain. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.