Novel modification of bismaleimide–triazine resin by reactive hyperbranched polysiloxane

A novel kind of modified bismaleimide–triazine (CE/BD) resins by copolymerizing with reactive hyperbranched polysiloxane (HPSiE) was first reported, and the effect of HPSiE content on key properties was systemically investigated. Results show that the addition of HPSiE into CE/BD resin effectively improves the toughness and water resistance, moreover, the positive effect enhances with the increase of HPSiE loading. CE/BD/HPSiE resin with desirable HPSiE content also remains the good thermal and dielectric properties of CE/BD resin, suggesting that the toughening route by copolymerizing a thermosetting resin with reactive hyperbranched polymers provides a promising approach for developing high performance resins. These changes of properties are explained by an inherent feature of HPSiE, and the alteration of chemistry in network.