Novel flame‐retardant thermosets: Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A as a curing agent of boron‐containing phenolic resins

Boron‐containing novolac resins were synthesized by the modification of a commercial novolac resin with different contents of bis(benzo‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolanyl)oxide. These novolac resins were crosslinked with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), and their thermal, thermodynamomechanical, and flame‐retardant properties were evaluated. The boron‐containing novolac resins were less thermally stable than the unmodified novolac resin. Their modification degree and DGEBA content were related to the crosslinking density of the materials. The boron‐containing novolac resins generated boric acid at high temperatures and gave an intumescent char that slowed down the degradation and prevented it from being total. They also showed good flame‐retardant properties. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1701–1710, 2006     

Curing studies of epoxy resins with phosphorus‐containing amines

The curing system of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with two phosphorus‐containing amine compounds—bis(3‐aminophenyl)methyl phosphine oxide and bis(4‐aminophenyl)‐bis(9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐oxide‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene‐10‐yl)methane—was studied with differential scanning calorimetry under isothermal and nonisothermal conditions and compared with the DGEBA/diamino diphenyl methane system. The isoconversional method was used to evaluate the dependence of the effective activation energy on the extent of conversion. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis were used to study the phenomena of vitrification and gelation. The thermal and flame‐retardant properties were evaluated, and the limiting oxygen index values of the phosphorylated resins, above 30, confirmed that phosphorus‐containing epoxy resins are effective flame retardants. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1676–1685, 2006     

Development of novel flame‐retardant thermosets based on boron‐modified phenol–formaldehyde resins

Boron‐containing novolac resins were prepared through the modification of a commercial novolac resin with different contents of bis(benzo‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolanyl) oxide. Their thermal and flame‐retardant properties were measured. Then, they were crosslinked with hexamethylenetetramine, and their thermal, thermodynamomechanical, and flame‐retardant properties were evaluated. Their modification degree was related to the segmental motion of the materials. The crosslinking of the boron‐modified novolac resins with hexamethylenetetramine was slower and not as extensive as that of commercial novolac resins because the nitrogen from intermediate species coordinated with boron. The thermal degradation of the boron‐containing novolac resins generated boric acid at high temperatures and gave an intumescent char that slowed the degradation and prevented it from being complete. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3503–3512, 2006     

Preparation, thermal properties and flame retardancy of phosphorus- and silicon-containing epoxy resins

Phosphorus- and silicon-containing epoxy resins were prepared from (2,5-dihydroxyphenyl)diphenyl phosphine oxide (Gly-HPO), diglycidyloxy methylphenyl silane (DGMPS) and 1,4-bis(glycidyloxydimethyl silyl)-benzene (BGDMSB) as epoxy monomers and diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM), bis(3-aminophenyl)methyl phosphine oxide (BAMPO) and bis(4-aminophenoxy)dimethyl silane (APDS) as curing agents. Epoxy resins with different phosphorus and silicon content were obtained. Their thermal, dynamic mechanical and flame retardant properties were evaluated. The high LOI values confirmed that epoxy resins containing hetero-atoms are effective flame retardants, but a synergistic efficiency of phosphorus and silicon on flame retardation was not observed.     

Synthesis of novel boron‐containing epoxy–novolac resins and properties of cured products

Epoxy–novolac resins were synthesized by modifying a commercial novolac resin with epichlorohydrin. These epoxy–novolac resins were characterized and further modified with different contents of bis(benzo‐1,3,2‐dioxa‐borolanyl)oxide or bis(4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐1,3,2‐dioxa‐borolanyl)oxide. The boron‐containing epoxy–novolac resins were autocatalytically crosslinked or crosslinked with BF₃MEA and their thermal stability and flame retardancy were determined by thermogravimetric analysis and limiting oxygen index (LOI) values. These LOI values for the bis(benzo‐1,3,2‐dioxa‐borolanyl)oxide derivatives were higher than the boron‐free novolac resins, which shows the benefit of the presence of boron. To test the role of boron in the enhancement of flammability, scanning electronic microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy images were made. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6332–6344, 2006     

Effect of the organophosphate structure on the physical and flame‐retardant properties of an epoxy resin

2‐(6‐Oxido‐6H‐dibenzo〈c,e〉〈1,2〉oxa‐phosphorin‐6‐yl)1,4‐benzenediol (ODOPB) and bis(3‐dihydroxyphenyl) phenyl phosphate (BHPP) were successfully synthesized and used as reactive flame retardants in o‐cresol formaldehyde novolac epoxy resin. Because of the rigid, cyclic, side‐chain structure of ODOPB, the resultant phosphorus‐containing epoxy resin exhibited a higher glass‐transition temperature, better flame retardancy, higher modulus, and greater thermal stability than the regular bromine‐containing tetrabromobisphenol A epoxy resin and the linear, main‐chain, phosphorus‐containing BHPP epoxy resin. A UL‐94VO rating was achieved with a phosphorus content as low as 1.1% with ODOPB (comparable to a bromine content of 12% and a phosphorus content of 2.2% with BHPP) in the cured resins, and no fumes or toxic gas emissions were observed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 369–378, 2002     

Flame‐retardant epoxy resins with high glass‐transition temperatures. II. Using a novel hexafunctional curing agent: 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene 10‐yl‐tris(4‐aminophenyl) methane

We synthesized a novel phosphorus‐containing triamine [9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene 10‐yl‐tris(4‐aminophenyl) methane (dopo‐ta)] from the nucleophilic addition of 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene 10‐oxide and pararosaniline chloride, using triethylamine as an acid receiver. We confirmed the structure of dopo‐ta by IR, mass, and NMR spectra and elemental analysis. dopo‐ta served as a curing agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and dicyclopentadiene epoxy (hp7200). Properties such as the glass‐transition temperature (T_g), thermal decomposition temperature, flame retardancy, moisture absorption, and dielectric properties of the cured epoxy resins were evaluated. The T_g's of cured DGEBA/dopo‐ta and hp7200/dopo‐ta were 171 and 190 °C, respectively. This high T_g phenomenon is rarely seen in the literature after the introduction of a flame‐retardant element. The flame retardancy increased with the phosphorus content, and a UL‐94 V‐0 grade was achieved with a phosphorus content of 1.80 wt % for DGEBA/dopo‐ta/diamino diphenylmethane (DDM) systems and 1.46 wt % for hp7200/dopo‐ta/DDM systems. The dielectric constants for DGEBA/dopo‐ta and hp7200/dopo‐ta were 2.91 and 2.82, respectively, implying that the dopo‐ta curing systems exhibited low dielectric properties. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5971–5986, 2005     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of novel epoxy resins and cyanate esters

We synthesized a novel epoxy (dopotep) and cyanate ester (dopotcy) based on a phosphorus‐containing triphenol (dopotriol). The proposed structures were confirmed by IR, mass spectra, NMR spectra, and epoxy‐equivalent‐weight titration. The synthesized dopotep or dopotcy was copolymerized with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), 6′,6‐bis(3‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,3‐benzoxazineyl)methane (F‐a), or dicyanate ester of bisphenol A (BADCY). Thus, copolymers based on DGEBA/dopotep/diphenylmethane (ddm), F‐a/dopotep, BADCY/dopotcy, and DGEBA/dopotcy were developed. The thermal properties, dielectric properties, and flame retardancy of these copolymers were investigated. The curing kinetics of dopotep/ddm and dopotep/diamino diphenylsulfone were studied with differential scanning calorimetry. The microstructure of DGEBA/dopotcy was studied with IR. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3487–3502, 2006     

Synthesis and properties of flame‐retardant benzoxazines by three approaches

We propose three approaches to obtain flame‐retardant benzoxazines. In the first approach, we synthesize a novel benzoxazine (dopot‐m) from a phosphorus‐containing triphenol (dopotriol), formaldehyde, and methyl amine. Dopot‐m is copolymerized with a commercial benzoxazine [6′,6‐bis(3‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,3‐benzoxazineyl)methane (F‐a)] or diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). The thermal properties and flame retardancy of the F‐a/dopot‐m copolymers increase with the content of dopot‐m. As for the dopot‐m/DGEBA curing system, the glass‐transition temperature of the dopot‐m/DGEBA copolymer is 252 °C, which is higher than that of poly(dopot‐m). The 5% decomposition temperature of the dopot‐m/DGEBA copolymer increases from 323 to 351 °C because of the higher crosslinking density caused by the reaction of phenolic OH and epoxy. In the second approach, we incorporate the element phosphorus into benzoxazine via the curing reaction of dopotriol and F‐a. After the curing, the thermal properties of the F‐a/dopotriol copolymers are almost the same as those of neat poly(F‐a), and this implies that we can incorporate the flame‐retardant element phosphorus into the polybenzoxazine without sacrificing any thermal properties. In the third approach, we react dopo with electron‐deficient benzoxazine to incorporate the element phosphorus. After the curing, the glass‐transition temperatures of polybenzoxazines decrease slightly with the content of dopo, mainly because of the smaller crosslinking density of the resultant polybenzoxazines. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3454–3468, 2006     

Novel flame‐retardant thermosets: Phosphine oxide‐containing diglycidylether as curing agent of phenolic novolac resins

Phosphorus‐containing novolac–epoxy systems were prepared from novolac resins and isobutyl bis(glycidylpropylether) phosphine oxide (IHPOGly) as crosslinking agent. Their curing behavior was studied and the thermal, thermomechanical, and flame‐retardant properties of the cured materials were measured. The T_g and decomposition temperatures of the resulting thermosets are moderate and decrease when the phosphorous content increases. Whereas the phosphorous species decrease the thermal stability, at higher temperatures the degradation rates are lower than the degradation rate of the phosphorous‐free resin. V‐O materials were obtained when the resins were tested for ignition resistance with the UL‐94 test. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3516–3526, 2004     

Synthesis and properties of biobased epoxy resins. part 1. Glycidylation of flavonoids by epichlorohydrin

Biobased epoxy resins were synthesized from a catechin molecule, one of the repetitive units in natural flavonoid biopolymers also named condensed tannins. The reactivity of catechin toward epichlorohydrin to form glycidyl ether derivatives was studied using two model compounds, resorcinol and 4‐methylcatechol, which represent the A and B rings of catechin, respectively. These model molecules clearly showed differences in reactivity upon glycidylation, explaining the results found with catechin monomer. The reaction products were characterized by both FTIR and NMR spectroscopy and chemical assay. The glycidyl ether of catechin (GEC) was successfully cured in various epoxy resin formulations. The GECs thermal properties showed that these new synthesized epoxy resins displayed interesting properties compared to the commercial diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). For instance, when incorporated up to 50% into the DGEBA resin, GEC did not modify the glass‐transition temperature. Epoxy resins formulated with GEC had slightly lower storage moduli but induced a decrease of the swelling percentage, suggesting that GEC‐enhanced crosslinking in the epoxy resin networks. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Development of novel phosphorus‐containing epoxy resins from renewable resources

Novel biobased epoxy resins were prepared from two fatty acid derivatives; epoxidized 10‐undecenoyl triglyceride and epoxidized methyl 3,4,5‐tris(10‐undecenoyloxy)benzoate, with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane as a crosslinking agent. The flame retardancy of these epoxy resins was improved by the addition of 10‐[2′, 5′‐bis(9‐oxiranyl‐nonayloxy)phenyl]‐9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene‐10‐oxide and by crosslinking with a phosphorus‐containing curing agent, bis(m‐aminophenyl)methylphosphine oxide. The thermal, thermomechanical, and flame‐retardant properties of the cured materials were measured with differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and the limiting oxygen index. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6717–6727, 2006     

Advanced flame‐retardant epoxy resins from phosphorus‐containing diol

Phosphorus‐containing epoxy systems were prepared from isobutylbis(hydroxypropyl)phosphine oxide (IHPO) and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). Diethyl‐N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) aminomethyl phosphonate (Fyrol 6) could not be incorporated into the epoxy backbone by a reaction with either epichlorohydrin or DGEBA because intramolecular cyclization took place. The curing behavior of the IHPO–DGEBA prepolymer with two primary amines was studied, and materials with moderate glass‐transition temperatures were obtained. V‐0 materials were obtained when the resins were tested for ignition resistance with the UL‐94 test. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3510–3515, 2005     

Flame‐retardant epoxy resins: An approach from organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposites

Phosphorus‐containing epoxy‐based epoxy–silica hybrid materials with a nanostructure were obtained from bis(3‐glycidyloxy)phenylphosphine oxide, diaminodiphenylmethane, and tetraethoxysilane in the presence of the catalyst p‐toluenesulfonic acid via an in situ sol–gel process. The silica formed on a nanometer scale in the epoxy resin was characterized with Fourier transform infrared, NMR, and scanning electron microscopy. The glass‐transition temperatures of the hybrid epoxy resins increased with the silica content. The nanometer‐scale silica showed an enhancement effect of improving the flame‐retardant properties of the epoxy resins. The phosphorus–silica synergistic effect on the limited oxygen index (LOI) enhancement was also observed with a high LOI value of 44.5. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 986–996, 2001     

Thermal degradation behaviors of epoxy resin/POSS hybrids and phosphorus–silicon synergism of flame retardancy

Epoxy resin (EP)/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) hybrids were prepared based on octavinyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (OVPOSS) and phosphorus‐containing epoxy resin (PCEP). The PCEP was synthesized via the reaction between bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA) and 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene‐10‐oxide (DOPO). The structure and morphology of PCEP/OVPOSS hybrids were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that the PCEP/OVPOSS hybrids possessed higher glass transition temperatures than that of PCEP. The thermal stability of the PCEP/OVPOSS hybrids was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The TGA results illustrated the synergistic effect of phosphorus–silicon of flame retardancy: phosphorus promotes the char formation, and silicon protects the char from thermal degradation. The thermal degradation mechanism of the PCEP/OVPOSS hybrids was investigated by real time Fourier transform infrared spectra and pyrolysis/gas chromatogram/mass spectrometry (Py‐GC/MS) analysis. It was found that OVPOSS migrated to the surface of the matrix and then sublimed from the surface in nitrogen; whereas, the vinyl groups of OVPOSS were oxidated to form a radical trap which could react with pyrolysis radicals derived from PCEP to form the branched and crosslinked structure in air. The combustion behaviors of the hybrids were evaluated by micro combustion calorimetry. The addition of OVPOSS obviously decreased the value of peak heat release rate and total heat release of the hybrids. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to explore the char residues of the PCEP and the hybrids. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 693–705, 2010     

Fracture toughening of epoxy matrices with blends of resins of different molecular weights and other modifiers

The microstructure and fracture behavior of epoxy mixtures containing two monomers of different molecular weights were studied. The variation of the fracture toughness by the addition of other modifiers was also investigated. Several amounts of high‐molecular‐weight diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) oligomer were added to a nearly pure DGEBA monomer. The mixtures were cured with an aromatic amine, showing phase separation after curing. The curing behavior of the epoxy mixtures was investigated with thermal measurements. A significant enhancement of the fracture toughness was accompanied by slight increases in both the rigidity and strength of the mixtures that corresponded to the content of the high‐molecular‐weight epoxy resin. Dynamic mechanical and atomic force microscopy measurements indicated that the generated two‐phase morphology was a function of the content of the epoxy resin added. The influence of the addition of an oligomer or a thermoplastic on the morphologies and mechanical properties of both epoxy‐containing mixtures was also investigated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3920–3933, 2004     

Thermal properties and toughness performance of hyperbranched‐polyimide‐modified epoxy resins

An amine‐terminated hyperbranched polyimide (HBPI) was prepared by the condensation polymerization of a commercially available triamine monomer with a dianhydride monomer. The effects of the HBPI content on the thermal and mechanical interfacial properties of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resins were investigated with several techniques. The thermogravimetric analysis results showed that the thermal stability of the DGEBA/HBPI blends did not obviously change as the HBPI content increased. The glass‐transition temperature (T_g) of the DGEBA/HBPI blends increased with the addition of HBPI. Improvements in the critical stress intensity factor (K_IC) and impact strength of the blends were observed with the addition of HBPI. The K_IC value and impact strength were 2.5 and 2 times the values of the neat epoxy resins with only 4 wt % HBPI. The fractured surfaces were studied with scanning electron microscopy to investigate the morphology of the blends, and they showed that shear deformation occurred to prevent the propagation of cracks in the DGEBA/HBPI blends. These results indicated that a toughness improvement was achieved without a decrease in the thermal stability or T_g. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3348–3356, 2006     

Nonaqueous synthesis of nanosilica in epoxy resin matrix and thermal properties of their cured nanocomposites

Nonaqueous synthesis of nanosilica in diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐A epoxy (DGEBA) resin has been successfully achieved in this study by reacting tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) directly with DGEBA epoxy matrix, at 80 °C for 4 h under the catalysis of boron trifluoride monoethylamine (BF₃MEA). BF₃MEA was proved to be an effective catalyst for the formation of nanosilica in DGEBA epoxy under thermal heating process. FTIR and ²⁹Si NMR spectra have been used to characterize the structures of nanosilica obtained from this direct thermal synthetic process. The morphology of the nanosilica synthesized in epoxy matrix has also been analyzed by TEM and SEM studies. The effects of both the concentration of BF₃MEA catalyst and amount of TEOS on the diameters of nanosilica in the DGEBA epoxy resin have been discussed in this study. From the DSC analysis, it was found that the nanosilica containing epoxy exhibited the same curing profile as pure epoxy resin, during the curing reaction with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenysulfone (DDS). The thermal‐cured epoxy–nanosilica composites from 40% of TEOS exhibited high glass transition temperature of 221 °C, which was almost 50 °C higher than that of pure DGEBA–DDS–BF₃MEA‐cured resin network. Almost 60 °C increase in thermal degradation temperature has been observed during the TGA of the DDS‐cured epoxy–nanosilica composites containing 40% of TEOS. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 757–768, 2006     

Flame‐retardant epoxy resins with high glass‐transition temperatures from a novel trifunctional curing agent: Dopotriol

A novel phosphorus‐containing trifunctional novolac (dopotriol) was synthesized through the addition reaction of 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxa‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene 10‐oxide and rosolic acid. The structure of dopotriol was confirmed with NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. The dopotriol was blended with phenol novolac in the ratios of 10/0, 8/2, 6/4, 4/6, 2/8, and 0/10 to serve as a curing agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A. Thermal properties, such as the glass‐transition temperature, thermal decomposition temperature, and flame retardancy, moisture absorption, and dielectric properties of the cured epoxy resins were evaluated. The activity and activation energy of curing were studied with the methods of Kissinger and Ozawa by dynamic differential scanning calorimetry scans. The glass‐transition temperatures of the cured epoxy resins were 138–159 °C, increasing with the phosphorus content. This is rarely seen in the literature after the addition of a flame‐retardant element. The flame retardancy increased with the phosphorus content, and a UL‐94 V‐0 grade was achieved with a phosphorus content of 1.87%. Similar dielectric properties and moisture absorption were observed for these phosphorus‐containing epoxy resins, and this implied that the addition of phosphorus to epoxy did not affect the dielectric properties and moisture absorption. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2862–2873, 2005     

Thermal properties and fracture toughness of epoxy resins cured by phosphonium and pyrazinium salts as latent cationic initiators

In this work, the latent thermal cationic initiators triphenyl benzyl phosphonium hexafluoroantimonate (TBPH) and benzyl‐2‐methylpyrazinium hexafluoroantimonate (BMPH) were newly synthesized and characterized with IR, ¹H NMR, and P NMR spectroscopy. The thermal and mechanical properties of difunctional epoxy [diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)] resins cured by 1 phr of either TBPH or BMPH were investigated. The DGEBA/TBPH system showed a higher curing temperature and a higher critical stress intensity factor than the epoxy/BMPH system. This could be interpreted in terms of the slow thermal diffusion rate and bulk structure of the four phenyl groups in TBPH. However, the decomposition activation energy derived from the Coats–Redfern method was lower for epoxy/TBPH. This result was probably due to the fact that a broken short‐chain structure was developed by the steric hindrance of TBPH in the difunctional epoxy resin. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2393–2403, 2003