Preparation and Characteristics of the Blends of Polyimide and Polybenzoxazole Having Imide Ring

Polymer blends were prepared by solution blending poly(amic acid) (PAA) and poly(o-hydroxy amide) (PHA) having imide groups in the main chain. The polymers and their blends were characterized by using FTIR, FT NMR, DSC, TGA, SEM, XRD, UTM, and LOI. The solubility study revealed that the blends were readily soluble in aprotic solvents such as DMF, DMAc, DMSO, and NMP. The maximum weight loss of the blends occurred in the range of , and the maximum weight loss temperature increased with increasing the PHA content. The PBO/PI blends showed relatively high char yields (i.e. 56-69 wt%). The LOI values of the blends were in the range of 24.5-28.1% and increased with increasing the PHA content. The initial modulus and tensile strength of the blends increased by 57 to 121% and by 67 to 107%, respectively, compared to the values of PAA. Especially the initial modulus and tensile strength of the PHA/PAA=2/8(wt/wt) showed the highest values of 4.87 GPa and 108 MPa, respectively. The PHA domains of in their size were more or less uniformly dispersed. The interfacial adhesion between PAA and PHA was found to be good.