Preparation and properties of fumed silica/cyanate ester nanocomposites

Fumed silica/bisphenol A dicyanate ester (BADCy) nanocomposites were prepared by introducing different contents of nano-sized fumed SiO₂ into the BADCy matrix. Two different average primary particle diameters of 12 and 40 nm were chosen. Dibutyltindilaurate (DBTDL) catalyst was chosen to catalyze the cyanate ester group into triazine group via cyclotrimerization reaction. The SEM micrographs indicated that the fumed SiO₂ particles were homogeneously dispersed in the poly(bisphenol A dicyanate) matrix by means of ultrasonic treatment and the addition of a coupling agent. The FTIR spectroscopy shows that, not only DBTDL catalyzes the polymerization reaction but also ̄OH groups of the SiO₂ particles surface help the catalyst for the complete polymerization of BADCy monomer. The thermal stability of the cured BADCy can be improved by adequate addition of fumed SiO ₂ . A slight increase in the dielectric constant and dielectric loss values were identified by testing the dielectric properties of the prepared nanocomposite samples. By increasing the SiO₂ content, there was a slight increasing in the thermal conductivity values of the tested samples. The obtained results proved that the fumed silica/BADCy nanocomposites had good thermal and dielectrical properties and can be used in many applications such as in the thermal insulation field.