Static and dynamic mechanical properties of modified bismaleimide and cyanate ester interpenetrating polymer networks

Abstract Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on different ratios of modified bismaleimide (BMI) resin [BMI/2,2′‐diallylbisphenol A (DBA)] and cyanate ester (CE) (b10) have been synthesized via prepolymerization followed by thermal curing. A systematic study of both static and dynamic mechanical properties of the cured BMI/DBA–CE IPN resin systems was conducted through flexural, impact testing, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The static mechanical investigation shows that the flexural strength, flexural strain at break, and impact strength of the cured BMI/DBA–CE IPN resin systems are relatively lower than that calculated by rule of mixture of two individuals: BMI/DBA and b10. However, the flexural moduli of the IPN resin systems have more consistent features compared to that calculated by rule of mixture. Single damping peaks are detected for the cured BMI/DBA–CE IPN resin systems, which suggests a substantial degree of interpenetration between two networks. The damping peaks of the cured BMI/DBA–CE IPN resin systems do tend to become broader with increasing concentration of BMI/DBA, whereas the intensity of damping peaks of the IPN resin systems decreases. The obtained results not only provide insight information about the characteristic structures of these BMI/DBA‐–CE IPN resin systems, but also give guidelines for their applications. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 2000–2006, 2003