THERMAL-REACTION BETWEEN N-PHENYLMALEIMIDE AND 2-ALLYLPHENOL AS A MODEL FOR THE CROSS-LINKING REACTION IN BISMALEIMIDE POLYMERIZATION WITH DIALLYLBISPHENOL-A

The thermal reaction between N-phenylmaleimide and 2-allylphenol was t aken as a model reaction in order to obtain information about chain ex tension and crosslinking mechanisms of the thermal curing of bismaleim ides with diallylbisphenol A. Isolation (preparative HPLC) and charact erization (H-1 and C-13 NMR, FTIR, HPLC/SM) of a monoadduct and two or iginal triadducts (principally low molecular weight products of the re action) and studies as a function of time (0 - 6 h) of this thermally induced reaction (160 - 250 degrees C) with equimolar quantities of N- phenylmaleimide and 2-allylphenol, as well as with an excess of N-phen ylmaleimide, give direct evidence of the occurrence of an ene-reaction and further Diels-Alder and retro Diels-Alder reactions with rise in temperature.