Oligomeric aliphatic-aromatic ether containing phthalonitrile resins

A versatile synthetic method has been developed for oligomeric aliphatic-aromatic ether containing phthalonitrile (PN) resins and applied to the preparation of three unique resin systems. The oligomeric PN monomers were prepared from the reaction of an excess amount of bisphenol A with a dihalo-aliphatic containing compound in the presence of K2CO3 in dimethylsulfoxide, followed by end-capping with 4-nitrophthalonitrile in a two-step, one-pot reaction. These PN resin systems exhibited excellent viscosities for molding various shaped articles after thermal curing to yield crosslinked polymers. These polymers offered more mechanical flexibility, when compared with an all aromatic backbone, while still maintaining good thermal stability, dielectric properties, and low water absorption. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 2186-2191