High density polyethylene-grafted-maleic anhydride low-k porous films prepared via thermally induced phase separation

Low dielectric constant (low-k) porous films of high density polyethylene-grafted-maleic anhydride were prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) using di-n-octyl phthalate as the solvent and methanol as the extractant. The results show that, for the process of TIPS, cellular structures of spherical pores were obtained. Lower polymer concentration and lower cooling rate induced larger pores and higher porosity. For the dielectric constant, the introduction of pores considerably reduced the dielectric constant from 2.60 to 1.56 at most. Pore size showed little effect on dielectric constant in our experiment, but porosity was found to be the key influential factor. The relationship between dielectric constant and porosity was found to be best fit to Rayleigh model.