Professor James Economy's Group

 

Welcome
Group
Research
  Polymers
  Adsorption Materials
  Composites
  Others
Publications
Facilities
Past Researchers
News
Links
Contact
Home
   

Last modified 08/21/03

This document maintained by the web master.

Material Copyright © Economy's Group

High Performance Aromatic Copolyesters

 

 

[Polymer Blends] [Microelectronic Polymers] [Liquid Crystalline Polyesters] [Polyester Thermosetting Resins]

 

 

Important background information and concepts which will help explain the unique properties our polyesters exhibit are described here. We suggest that for a full understanding of the next four research pages you take some time to read about some of these properties first. They enable some exciting advancements in processing and properties of polyesters.

 

Polymer Blends

To provide a more stable structure and lower wear loss surface, UHMWPE and ATSP (aromatic thermosetting polyester ) blends was developed in our group. In the primary Dynamometer wear test, the blend system with small amount compatibilizer showed lower wear rate compared to UHMWPE.

To enhance mixing and improve the interface adhesion, fine powders of ATSP were prepared by solution polymerization of trimesic acid, hydroquinone diacetate, isophthalic acid and acetoxybenzoic acid. It was found thermosetting polyester could indeed stiffen and strenghthen pure PTFE, besides, ATSP powders ( 20µm in diameter) improved the flow property of PFPE, hence, a broad processing window of 100°C was found , and ATSP/PFPE, ATSP/PFPE/Zonyl fluoropolymer composites were fabricated with excellent mechanical properties.

 

Microelectronic Polymers

Advances are currently being made in the area of microelectronic polymers. The polymer dielectrics we are developing can be used in different levels of packaging: PCB and MCM-L and can ben applied to chip technology. The dielectrics have a dielectric constant of 2.3 (RT, 1MHz) and are photoimageable. Currently we are working on optimizing the materials and fabrication of MCM-L devices.

 

Liquid Crystalline Polyesters

Thermotropic liquid crystalline polyesters (LCP) have found a wide range of high temperature applications in areas such as electrical connectors, high temperature adhesives, and protective coatings. A discussion of previous advancements in researching the effect of high temperature annealing is discussed.

 

Polyester Thermosetting Resins

A family of polyester resins are being researched and developed by our group. These materials will have costs ranging from less than $1, aimed at the broad marketplace, to materials that will cost just under $3, which are aimed at the high-performance and defense industries. These materials are related to those that are photo-sensitized for the photo-dielectric project. Current advancements in this area include a study of the interchain transesterification reactions which allow for solid-state consolidation of fully cross-linked polyester materials and also the ability to recycle these thermosetting resins.