Thermal and mechanical evaluation of cyanate ester resin catalyzed by nonylphenol and stannous octoate

Nonylphenol (NP), stannous octoate [Sn(Otc) 2 ], and a mixture of NP and Sn(Otc) 2 were employed for catalyzing cyanate ester resin. The curing reaction was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. A water‐absorption test at 85 °C was utilized to study the resistance to warm and humid conditions. The thermal properties were evaluated through measuring thermal weight loss and the glass‐transition temperature ( T g ), and the mechanical properties were evaluated through three‐point bending tests and tensile tests. The results show that the mixture of NP and Sn(Otc) 2 exhibits the best catalytic efficiency by decreasing the exothermic peak temperature by almost 148 °C. The mixture of NP and Sn(Otc) 2 has unfavorable effects on the thermal stability. Nevertheless, all catalyst systems have good water‐absorption resistance. The mechanical investigation confirms that the tensile properties show a little reduction that is due to the plasticization of the catalyst, while the excellent flexural properties are maintained. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43959.