Modification of bismaleimide with allyl compound and N-phenylmaleimide

Three different formulas with low‐cost resins, made up of N,N′‐bismaleimidephenylmethane (BMI), O,O′‐diallybisphenol A(BA), and N‐phenylmaleimide (NPMI) were developed. The properties of prepolymers, such as activation energies, enthalpy, and constants of reaction rate, were obtained by a kinetic programmer on DSC. Thermal and mechanical properties of neat resins were also studied. The results showed that the systems had low melting point and low viscosity. All cured resins presented excellent thermal and good mechanical properties. The mechanical properties could be affected by the quantity of NPMI and postcuring process. The water absorption is ≤1.98%; heat deflection temperature (HDT) is ≥250°C after aging for 100 h in distilled water of 90°C. The data indicate that the BMI can be effectively improved by adding BA and NPMI, while its heat resistance and hot/wet mechanical properties can be fairly retained. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 2518–2522, 2001