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Functionalized mesoporous silica liquid crystal epoxy resin composite: an ideal low-dielectric hydrophobic material

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Abstract

The field of microelectronic devices and 5G communication has an increasing demand for polymer composites with low dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, and good hydrophobicity. However, traditional polymer composites cannot simultaneously satisfy them, which severely hinders their application. In this work, a liquid crystal epoxy resin (LCE4) consisted of a flexible chain and rigid mesogenic unit was prepared and cured with methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHHPA). And the mechanism of the curing reaction and the phase structure of the liquid crystal epoxy resins were investigated. In addition, dielectric hydrophobic liquid crystal epoxy nanometer composite materials were successfully prepared with functionalized mesoporous silica (SBA-15) as a filler. The results showed that pure LCE4 exhibited excellent dielectric properties and thermal stability. Compared with pure LCE4, the composite material for SBA-15 modified with KH560 displayed lower dielectric constant, lower dielectric loss, higher glass transition temperature, and better hydrophobicity. For example, with a 0.5 wt% SBA-15, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the composite material were as low as (2.35, 0.025) compared with pure LCE4 (3.25, 0.036) that was reduced by 24.7% and 31%. In addition, the glass transition temperature and water contact angle are increased by 16 °C and 14°, respectively. Composites also showed good thermal stability and mechanical properties. The reasons may mainly be derived from the internal structure of LCE4, the effective modification of mesoporous SBA-15 by KH560, and the excellent dispersion of organic and inorganic phases.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Guangzhou Science and Technology Program Key Projects (No. 201904010244). The authors would like to thank Huang Zhenyun from shiyanjia laboratory for support of DSC and BET analysis (www.Shiyanjia.com).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, People’s Republic of China

    Zhiqiang Feng, Jiaming Liu, Bifang Chen, Jiaming Lin, Liqin Tan & Liyan Liang

  2. Guangzhou Chemical Grouting Engineering Co., Ltd, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, People’s Republic of China

    Wenchao Zhang, Juanjuan Zeng & Liyan Liang

  3. CAS Engineering Laboratory for Special Fine Chemicals, Guangzhou, 510650, People’s Republic of China

    Zhiqiang Feng, Xiaohong Liu, Jiaming Liu, Jiaming Lin & Liyan Liang

  4. CASH GCC Shaoguan Research Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanxiong, 512400, People’s Republic of China

    Wenchao Zhang, Juanjuan Zeng & Liyan Liang

  5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Zhiqiang Feng, Xiaohong Liu, Bifang Chen & Liqin Tan

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  1. Zhiqiang Feng
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  2. Xiaohong Liu
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Correspondence to Liyan Liang.

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Feng, Z., Liu, X., Zhang, W. et al. Functionalized mesoporous silica liquid crystal epoxy resin composite: an ideal low-dielectric hydrophobic material. J Mater Sci 57, 1156–1173 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06672-w

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