Molecularly engineered Polyarylene ether nitrile copolymers integrating high thermal resistance with ultralow dielectric loss for advanced electronic applications

Abstract

The development of polymer materials combining exceptional heat resistance with ultralow dielectric characteristics remains critical for advancing high-frequency communication systems and miniaturized high-temperature electronic devices. This study introduces an innovative array of polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN) statistical copolymers that were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution polymerization, strategically incorporating biphenol AP (BPAP) for dielectric optimization, fluorene-based bisphenol (BPF) for thermal stability enhancement, and 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (DCBN) as the activating monomer. Systematic characterization reveals that the optimized PEN-50 copolymer exhibits superior comprehensive performance, achieving a glass transition temperature (T_g) of 237 °C while maintaining excellent dielectric properties (ε = 3.3, tanδ = 0.008, @1 MHz). The semi-crystalline film exhibits exceptional tensile performance, attaining 66 MPa tensile strength and 2.03 GPa elastic modulus. These outstanding thermomechanical properties combined with ultralow dielectric losses position the PEN-50 copolymer as a promising candidate for advanced applications in next-generation high-frequency communication devices, aerospace electronics, and high-density integrated circuits requiring simultaneous high-temperature stability and signal integrity preservation.