Synthesis, characterization and thermally activated curing of polysulfones with benzoxazine end groups

Polysulfones with benzoxazine end groups (PSU-B-a) were obtained using monomer synthesis method from the phenol terminated polysulfone (PSU-OH), aniline and paraformaldehyde as starting materials. For this purpose, the precursor PSU-OHs with different molecular weights were prepared by condensation of bisphenol-A and bis(p-chlorophenyl) sulfone in presence of potassium carbonate. The structure of the polymers before and after functionalization was confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Thermally activated crosslinking behavior of these polymers was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermal and tensile properties of the crosslinked polymers obtained from PSU-B-a alone or with low molar mass benzoxazine (P-a) were studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA).