Thermosetting Oligomers Containing Maleimides and Nadimides End-Groups

In the field of high thermomechanical performance polymers, linear and thermosetting systems offer complementary properties. Among the thermosetting materials, BMIs and BNIs have been extensively studied and are now commercially available. In this chapter, firstly the main preparation and characterization methods are reviewed, and then the chemistry of the polymerization processes is discussed for both families. For the BMIs, due to the electrophilic character of their double bond, different polymerization pathways have been published, which is not the case for BNIs. Special attention has been paid to thermal polymerization which has already been used in industrial achievements; however, on the other hand, the structure of these materials has been considered for the purpose of establishing relationships between processability, stability and thermomechanical properties.