Abstract
Diallyl bisphenol A formaldehyde novolac (ABPF) resin was cured with four structurally different bismaleimides (BMIs) at high temperatures through an Alder-ene reaction which resulted in thermally stable network polymers. The adhesive characteristics of the different BMI-ABPF systems were evaluated in terms of the lap shear strength (LSS) on aluminium substrates at varying temperatures up to 250°C. The LSS properties were not significantly affected by the structure of the BMI. Although the LSS of BMI-ABPF systems per se were not particularly high due to the brittle nature of the cross-linked structures, all the systems exhibited remarkably good retention of LSS at high temperatures. Replacing ABPF with its monomeric analogue i.e. o,o′- diallyl bisphenol A (DABA) resulted in better adhesion, but in a poorer thermo-adhesive profile. Comparison of DMA and thermo-adhesive profiles implied that in the majority of the cases molecular relaxations at higher temperature are conducive to matrix toughening which results in enhanced adhesion properties.