High Performance Polymer Derived from a Biorenewable Plant Oil (Anethole)

A high performance polymer with both low water uptake and high thermostability derived from a biorenewable plant oil (anethole) is reported here. By using the plant oil as the feedstock, a new monomer containing benzocyclobutene and vinyl units was successfully synthesized. The monomer was then converted to a polymer via radical polymerization, and the polymer was further postpolymerized to form an insoluble and infusible cross-linked network at high temperature (>200 °C). The cross-linked network exhibited water uptake of below 0.40% (kept at boiling water for 4 days) and dielectric constant of less than 2.9 at a range of frequencies varying from 1.0 to at 30.0 MHz at room temperature. TGA and TMA data showed that the cross-linked network had 5 wt % loss temperature of 432 °C (in N2) and a Tg of 369 °C, respectively. The cross-linked network also showed low thermal expansion coefficient of 41.24 ppm/°C at the range of temperatures varying from 50 to 300 °C. Nanoindentation tests indicated that the cross-linked film had an average hardness of 0.87 GPa and a Young's modulus of 11.40 GPa. These data suggest that the new polymer derived from anethole possess excellent thermal and mechanical properties, and it has potential application in the microelectronic industry.