Abstract

AbstractPolysulfone‐block‐polydimethylsiloxane (PSF‐b‐PDMS) multiblock copolymer was synthesized via the Mannich polycondensation between phenolic hydroxyl‐terminated polysulfone and aminopropyl‐terminated polydimethylsiloxane in the presence of formaldehyde. The multiblock copolymer was characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and used as a modifier to improve the thermomechanical properties of epoxy thermosets. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the epoxy thermosets containing PSF‐b‐PDMS multiblock copolymer possesses the microphase‐separated morphological structures. Depending on the content of the PSF‐b‐PDMS multiblock copolymer, the spherical particles with the size of 50–200 nm in diameter were dispersed into the continuous epoxy matrices. The measurement of static contact angles showed that with the inclusion of PSF‐b‐PDMS multiblock copolymer, the epoxy thermosets displayed the improved surface hydrophobicity. It is noted that the epoxy resin was significantly toughened in terms of the measurement of critical stress field intensity factor (K1C). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011

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