Low-k and Recyclable High-Performance POSS/Polyamide Composites Based on Diels-Alder Reaction

The rapid development in electronics requires high-performance and low-k materials. Introducing additional recyclability to these materials could further promote their application from environmental and economic aspects. In this paper, we report a reversibly cross-linked composite from a newly designed maleimide functionalized POSS (mPOSS) and aromatic polyamide with pendent furan groups (POF). The Diels-Alder reaction between maleimide and furan groups allowed the facile cross-linking of POF by mPOSS, thus significantly improving the thermal and mechanical properties of mPOSS/POF composites. The reversible feature of Diels-Alder reaction also conferred good recyclability to the mPOSS/POF composites. Tensile tests suggested that more than 80% of mechanical properties were retained in reprocessed composites even with multiple reprocessing cycles. Moreover, the porous nature of POSS molecules and the restricted motion of polymer chains by cross-linking significantly reduced the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of composites. These fascinating features of our mPOSS/POF composites make them promising candidate for high-performance, recyclable, and low-k dielectrics.