Benzocyclobutene-functionalized hyperbranched polysiloxane for low-k materials with good thermostability

Although hyperbranched polysiloxanes have been extensively studied, they have limited practical applications because of their low glass transition temperatures. In this study, we synthesized benzocyclobutene-functionalized hyperbranched polysiloxane (HB-BCB) via the Piers-Rubinsztajn reaction. The synthesized material was cured and crosslinking occurred at temperatures greater than 200 °C, forming a low-k thermoset resin with high thermostability. The structure of the resin was characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, viz. ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy was used to calculate the degree of branching. Differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the cured resin possesses good high-temperature mechanical properties and exhibits a high thermal decomposition temperature (T_d5 = 512 °C). In addition, the cured resin has a low dielectric constant (k = 2.70 at 1 MHz) and low dissipation factor (2.13 × 10^-3 at 1 MHz). Thus, the prepared resin can function as a low-k material with excellent high-temperature performance. These findings indicate that the performance of crosslinked siloxane is significantly attributed to the introduction of BCB groups and the formation of the highly crosslinked structure.