Self-Toughening and Self-Enhancement Poly(arylene ether nitrile) with Low Dielectric Constant by Solid Crosslinking Reaction

A novel poly(arylene ether nitrile) terminated with hydroxyl groups (PEN–OH) was synthesized successfully. The effects of heat-treatment temperature on the thermal properties, mechanical properties, and dielectric properties of the PEN–OH films were studied in detail. Due to the cross-linking reaction occurring, at high temperature, among the nitrile groups on the side of the PEN–OH main chain to form a structurally stable triazine ring, the structure of materials changes from a linear structure to a bulk structure. Thus, the thermal properties and mechanical properties were improved. In addition, the occurrence of cross-linking reactions can reduce the polar groups in the material, leading to the decrease of dielectric constant. As the heat-treatment temperature increased, the glass-transition temperature increased from 180.6 °C to 203.6 °C, and the dielectric constant decreased from 3.4 to 2.8 at 1 MHz. Proper temperature heat-treatment could improve the tensile strength, as well as the elongation, at the break of the PEN–OH films. Moreover, because of the excellent adhesive property of PEN–OH to copper foil, a double-layer flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL) without any adhesives based on PEN–OH was prepared by a simple hot-press method, which possessed high peel strength with 1.01 N/mm. Therefore, the PEN–OH has potential applications in the electronic field.