Flexible backbone aromatic polyimide adhesives

Abstract

Continuing research at Langley Research Center on the synthesis and development of new inexpensive flexible aromatic polyimides as adhesives has resulted in a material identified as LARC-F-SO2 with similarities to polyimidesulfone, PISO2, and other flexible backbone polyimides recently reported by Progar and St. Clair. Also prepared and evaluated was an endcapped version of PISO2. These two polymers were compared with LARC-TPI and LARC-STPI, polyimides research in our laboratory and reported in the literature. The adhesive evaluation, primarily based on lap shear strength (LSS) tests at RT, 177 C and 204 C, involved preparing adhesive tapes, conducting bonding studies and exposing lap shear specimens to 204 C air for up to 1000 hrs and to a 72-hour water boil. The type of adhesive failure as well as the Tg was determined for the fractured specimens. The results indicate that LARC-TPI provides the highest LSSs. LARC-F-SO2, LARC-TPI and LARC-STPI all retain their strengths after thermal exposure for 1000 hrs and PISO2 retains greater than 80 percent of its control strengths. After a 72-hr water boil exposure, most of the four adhesive systems showed reduced strengths for all test temperatures although still retaining a high percentage of their original strength (greater than 60 percent) except for one case. The predominant failure type was cohesive with no significant change in the Tgs.