Design of low dielectric constant polybenzoxazine nanocomposite using mesoporous mullite

In this present work, porous mullites (PM_0–5) were synthesized through a template-assisted method using various weight percentages of pluronic (P-123). PM₅ obtained using 10 wt% of P-123 was found to show maximum porosity (3.8 Å) and low dielectric constant value (2.4). PM₅ was functionalized using glycidyl-terminated silane and denoted as FPM and various weight percentages of FPM were reinforced with polybenzoxazine (PBZ) matrix in order to develop FPM/PBZ nanocomposites. The thermal studies indicate that 1.5 wt% of FPM/PBZ nanocomposite showed improved thermal stability with 34% char yield at 800°C and 162°C as glass transition temperature. It also exhibits low dielectric constant (2.6) than that of the neat PBZ matrix and other FPM/PBZ nanocomposites. The microscopic analysis confirms the homogenous dispersion of FPM into the PBZ polymer that has a porous morphology. The results suggest that the as-synthesized mesoporous mullite with low dielectric constant (k), synthesized via template-assisted method can be used as a reinforcement to decrease the dielectric constant of polymeric material, which is of industrial significance.