Rising oil price and pressure to reduce emission push aerospace Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to use more and more polymer matrix composites (PMC) to reduce weight.Secondly, OEMs also try their best to reduce cost. They keep their eyes on improving repair and maintenance of PMC. Thermoplastics possess excellent comprehensive performance. First of all,OEMs prefer their high toughness, unique processing through heating and cooling, excellent fire smoke and toxicity properties with indefinite shelflife.
High performance thermoplastic resin containing phthalazinone moieties are a new important family of high-performance polymers possessing an outstanding balance of mechanical properties and
processability along with excellent thermooxidative stability. These polymers possess high glass
transition temperatures of 263-375 0C with 5% weight loss temperatures higher than 500 0C in
nitrogen atmosphere, can be soluble in some aprotic polar organic solvents because ofintroducing
twist and non-coplanar phthalazinone moiety into polymer main chain. They can be processed not
only by mold, injection and extrusion but also in solution. For example, they can be strong
candidates as high-performance matrix for fiber-reinforced composites, structural adhesives, cable
insulators, special varnish, and enameled wire, high-frequency copper foil laminate and functional
membranes. Thus they have found many applications often in harsh environments, for instance, in
aerospace, electronics, petroleum, and nuclear industries. Herein, the critical review describes the
most recent research works that contain the synthesis and applications of poly(phthalazinone ether)sand their applications in advanced resin composites, heat-resistant separation membrane, high-temperature insulated coating and so on.Herein the progress of thermoplastic composites for aircraft and their future in the application of aerospace was reported. Toughness of the thermoplastics means high allowable and innovative design features to produce low weight designs. Fast processing techniques such as press-forming,welding and high speed lay-up create low cost solutions. Poly(phthalazinone ether)s are a kind of potential thermoplastic matrix for polymer matrix composites. They present excellent mechanical properties, especially at elevated temperature.
