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Thiol functionalized polymers for dielectric materials

Appelhans, Leah A.; Dirk, Shawn M.

The development of functionalized polymer dielectrics based on poly(norbornene) and poly(PhONDI) (PhONDI = N-phenyl-7-oxanorbornene-5,6-dicarboximide) is presented. Functionalization of the polymer backbones by the thiol-ene reaction was examined to determine if thiol addition improved dielectric properties. Poly(norbornene) was not amenable to functionalization due to the propensity to crosslink under the reaction conditions studied. Poly(PhONDI) could be successfully functionalized, and the functionalized polymer was found to have increased breakdown strength as well as improved solution stability. Initial studies on the development of thiol-functionalized silica/poly(PhONDI) nanocomposites and their dielectric properties will also be discussed.