An m‐phenylenediamine‐based benzoxazine with favorable processability and its high‐performance thermoset

A novel aromatic diamine‐based benzoxazine (P‐mPDA) is successfully synthesized from m‐phenylenediamine (m‐PDA), 2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde, and formaldehyde. The polymerization behavior of P‐mPDA and the properties of its thermoset are studied. The results indicate that P‐mPDA owns favorable processability including low polymerization temperature, low liquefying temperature, and wide processing window. Even lower polymerization temperature (polymerization onset temperature as low as 80 °C) can be achieved by the promotion of catalysts. The ring‐opening polymerization of P‐mPDA first generates polybenzoxazine with N, O‐acetal‐type structure and arylamine Mannich‐type structure, following which rearrangement from N, O‐acetal‐type structure to phenolic Mannich‐type structure proceeds at elevated temperature. Furthermore, the polymerized P‐mPDA shows outstanding performance such as extremely high glass transition temperature (T_g) of 280 °C, high char yield above 53% at 800 °C under nitrogen and excellent mechanical property. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43368.