Performance of aluminum borate whisker reinforced cyanate ester resin

Abstract

Aluminum borate whisker (AlBw) treated with γ- methacryloxypropyltrimethoxy silane (KH550) and borate ester (BE4) was adopted to modify bisphenol A dicyanate/epoxy resin (BADCy/E-51) system, in this article. The influence of coupling agent and content of whisker on reaction activity were investigated by gel time and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and the results showed that addition of whisker enhances reaction activity of BADCy/E-51 system slightly. The dispersion of whisker in matrix and reinforcement mechanism was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results reveal that whisker treated with BE4 had better dispersing than that treated with KH550 in resin. The thermal stability, mechanical properties, and hot-wet resistance of AlBw/BADCy/E-51 resin system were also studied. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.