A new synthetic approach for difficult benzoxazines: Preparation and polymerization of 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone-based benzoxazine monomer

The first successfully synthesized benzoxazine in high purity from 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS), paraformaldehyde and phenol using high boiling point nonpolar solvent is reported. The solution method for benzoxazine synthesis is modified by using a nonpolar solvent of high boiling point. For comparison, the synthesis of such difficult benzoxazine monomer was prepared in high boiling point polar solvent, dimethylsufoxide. 1H NMR indicates the purity of the monomer prepared by this novel method to be quite high in comparison with that obtained using dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The thermally activated polymerization of the monomer affords polybenzoxazine with Tg at ca. 203 °C. The 5% and 10% decomposition temperatures of the polymer are 324 and 368 °C with 58% char yield, reflecting the excellent thermal stability than the typical polybenzoxazine based on bisphenol-A and aniline.