Preparation and characterization of Bismaleimide resin/titania nanocomposites via sol-gel process

Bismaleimide (BMI) resin/ titania nanocomposites were synthesized from allylated-phenolic modified bismaleimide resin and TiO2 via the sol-gel process of tetrabutyltitanate (Ti(OnBu)4, TBT). These nanocomposite materials were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, TGA and DMA. It was found that the nano-scale TiO2 particles were formed in the AP-BMI resin matrix, and the average primary particle size of the dispersed phase in the nanocomposites was less than 100nm, but the particle aggregates with bigger size existed. Obvious improvements of glass transition temperature and heat resistance properties of the AP-BMI resins were achieved by the introduction of nano-sized TiO2 inorganic phase, and the modulus of the material was also improved.