Adamantane-based epoxy resin and siloxane-modified adamantane-based epoxy resin: Characterization of thermal, dielectric and optical properties

An adamantane-based epoxy resin (ADEP) and a siloxane-modified adamantane-based epoxy resin (Siloxane-ADEP) were synthesized, and their chemical structures were confirmed from FT-IR, 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR spectroscopy measurements. The morphological, thermal, dielectric and optical properties of ADEP and Siloxane-ADEP were studied. The introduction of the adamantane group into the chain of the epoxy resin resulted in improvements in the thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties. These results can be explained in terms of the tricyclic hydrocarbon of the adamantane in a diamond lattice structure and the movement of polymer chains being limited by chair-form cyclohexane rings, resulting in an immobile epoxy structure. Moreover, Siloxane-ADEP exhibited good thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties that were similar to those of epoxy resin, and its better processability may extend its application to electronic packing materials. The UV-Vis transmission spectra revealed that the adamantane-containing epoxy membranes exhibited novel ultraviolet light-filtering properties.