Novel,environmentally friendly crosslinking system of an epoxy using an amino acid: Tryptophan‐cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy

Tryptophan, an amino acid, has been used as a novel, environmentally friendly curing agent instead of toxic curing agents to crosslink the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin. The curing reaction of tryptophan/DGEBA mixtures of different ratios and the effect of the imidazole catalyst on the reaction have been evaluated. The optimum reaction ratio of DGEBA to tryptophan has been determined to be 3:1 with 1 wt % catalyst, and the curing mechanism of the novel reaction system has been studied and elucidated. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that with the extraction of a hydrogen from NH₃⁺ in zwitterions from tryptophan, the formed nucleophilic primary amine and carboxylate anions of the tryptophan can readily participate in the ring‐opening reaction with epoxy. The secondary amine, formed from the primary amine, can further participate in the ring‐opening reaction with epoxy and form the crosslinked network. The crosslinked structure exhibits a reasonably high glass‐transition temperature and thermal stability. A catalyst‐initiated chain reaction mechanism is proposed for the curing reaction of the epoxy with zwitterion amino acid hardeners. The replacement of toxic curing agents with this novel, environmentally friendly curing agent is an important step toward a next‐generation green electronics industry. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 181–190, 2007     

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     

Accelerating effects of N‐aryl‐N′,N′‐dialkyl ureas on epoxy‐dicyandiamide curing system

This report focuses on epoxy‐dicyandiamide (DICY) curing system accelerated by N‐aryl‐N′,N′‐dialkyl urea, aiming at clarifying the accelerating mechanism and the relationship between accelerating effect and molecular structure of the accelerators. Nine N‐aryl‐N′,N′‐dialkyl ureas were synthesized and investigated with measurements of differential scanning calorimetry, thermo gravimetric/differential thermal analysis and NMR spectroscopy. The results revealed that the ureas released the corresponding secondary amines by the thermal dissociation in the presence of epoxide, which led to the formation of tertiary amines that catalyze the addition reaction of DICY to epoxide. Moreover, a tendency that the ureas able to release more compact amines exhibited higher acceleration effects was discovered. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Imidazole‐type thermal latent curing agents with high miscibility for one‐component epoxy thermosetting resins

Epoxy resins are important thermosetting resins widely employed in industrial fields. Although the epoxy–imidazole curing system has attracted attention because of its reactivity, solidification of a liquid epoxy resin containing imidazoles proceeds gradually even at room temperature. This makes it difficult to use them for one‐component epoxy resin materials. Though powder‐type latent curing agents have been used for one‐component epoxy resin materials, they are difficult to apply for fabrication of fine industrial products due to their poor miscibility. To overcome this situation and to improve the shelf life of epoxy–imidazole compositions, we have developed a liquid‐type thermal latent curing agent 1 , generating an imidazole with a thermal trigger via a retro‐Michael addition reaction. The latent curing agent 1 has superior miscibility toward epoxy resins; in addition, it was confirmed that the epoxy resin composition has both high reactivity at 150 °C, and long‐term storage stability at room temperature. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2680–2688     

Evolution of structure and properties of a liquid crystalline epoxy during curing

The evolution of structure, and thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of a liquid crystalline epoxy during curing has been studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy, x-ray scattering, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The liquid crystalline epoxy was the diglycidyl ether of 4,4′-dihydroxy-α-methylstilbene (DGEDHMS). Two curing agents were used in this study: a di-functional amine, the aniline adduct of DGEDHMS, and a tetra-functional sulfonamido amine, sulfanilamide. The effects of curing agent, cure time, and cure temperature have been investigated. Isothermal curing of the liquid crystalline epoxy with the di-functional amine and the tetra-functional sulfonamido amine causes an increase in the mesophase stability of the liquid crystalline epoxy resin. The curing also leads to various liquid crystalline textures, depending on the curing agent and cure temperature. These textures coarsen during the isothermal curing. Moreover, curing with both curing agents results in a layered structure with mesogenic units aligned perpendicular to the layer surfaces. The layer thickness decreases with cure temperature for the systems cured with the tetra-functional curing agent. The glass transition temperature of the cured networks rises with increasing cure temperature due to the increased crosslink density. The shear modulus of the cured networks shows a strong temperature dependence. However, it does not change appreciably with cure temperature. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 2363–2378, 1997     

Influence of substituents on the kinetics of epoxy/aromatic diamine resin systems

Eleven different epoxy/diamine systems, including tetraglycidyl‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane (TGDDM), triglycidyl p‐aminophenol (TGAP), and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS), diethyltoluenediamine (DETDA), dimethylthiotoluenediamine (DMTDA), and meta‐phenylenediamine (m‐PDA), were studied with near‐infrared spectroscopy at different temperatures. The reactivities of the epoxies were determined and found to be in the following order when reacted with the same amine: DGEBA > TGAP > TGDDM. When the primary amine was reacted with the same epoxy, the order was DETDA > DDS > DMTDA; for the secondary amine, the order was DETDA > DMTDA > DDS. The relative reaction rates of the secondary amine to the primary amine were compared and discussed in terms of the structural differences and the corresponding substitution effect. It was concluded that the increase in the secondary amine reactivity of DETDA and DMTDA was caused by the deconjugation of the benzene‐ring π electrons from the lone pair on the N atom. The overall order of the secondary amine relative reactivity was DMTDA > DETDA > DDS for the same epoxy and TGDDM > TGAP > DGEBA for the same amine. The m‐PDA systems had no significant positive or negative substitution effects. Molecular orbital calculations were performed, and the results showed the most significant deconjugation effect in the secondary amine of DETDA. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3143–3156, 2004     

Liquid‐crystalline thermosets from liquid‐crystalline epoxy resins containing bisazomethinebiphenylene mesogens in the central core: Copolymerization with a nonmesomorphic epoxy resin

A new series of liquid‐crystalline epoxy resins was synthesized, and their mesomorphic behavior was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering. These glycidylic compounds had central aromatic imine mesogens derived from benzidine and aliphatic spacers of up to 10 methylene units that linked the mesogens to the glycidylic groups. Crosslinking these monomers with primary aromatic diamines led to nematic networks, some of which contained crystal inclusions. However, through curing with tertiary amines as catalytic agents or through copolymerization with different proportions of the nonmesomorphic epoxy monomer and primary amines as crosslinking agents, smectic C organized thermosets were prepared when the spacers had at least four methylene carbons. When they had fewer than four, the networks were nematic. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3631–3643, 2004     

Phase structure and thermomechanical properties of primary and tertiary amine‐cured epoxy/silica hybrids

Several kinds of organic–inorganic hybrids were synthesized from an epoxy resin and a silane alkoxide with a primary amine‐type curing agent or tertiary amine curing catalyst. In the hybrid systems cured with the primary amine‐type curing agent, the storage modulus in the high‐temperature region increased, and the peak area of the tan δ curve decreased. Moreover, the mechanical properties were improved by the hybridization of small amounts of the silica network. However, these phenomena were not observed in the hybrid systems cured with the tertiary amine catalyst. The differences in the network structures of the hybrid materials with the different curing processes were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). In the hybrid systems cured with the primary amine‐type curing agent, FTIR results showed the formation of a covalent bond between silanol and hydroxyl groups that were generated by the reaction of an epoxy group with an active hydrogen of the primary amine. However, this phenomenon was not observed in the hybrids cured with the tertiary amine. The hybrids with the primary amine showed a homogeneous microstructure in transmission electron microscopy observations, although the hybrids cured with the tertiary amine showed a heterogeneous structure. These results mean that the differences in the interactions between the organic and inorganic phases significantly affect the properties and microstructures of the resultant composites. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 1071–1084, 2001     

Storage stability and curing behavior of epoxy‐dicyandiamide systems with carbonyldiimidazole‐Cu (II) complexes as the accelerator

The reaction between carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) and copper (II) nitrate produces a new Cu (II) complex with nitrate as the counter anion. TGA, UV, and FTIR analyses confirmed that the coordination number of CDI in this complex is two. The acceleration effect of the complex in epoxy‐dicyandiamide (DICY) curing systems has been evaluated by DSC and TMA, and the increasing viscosity of the mixture was monitored during the storage. The results revealed that the complex is not only very effective for the acceleration of epoxy‐DICY systems, leading to a rapid gelation within 21 min at 120 °C, but it is also chemically stable at ambient temperature. This is reflected by the slow increase of viscosity of the accelerated curing systems stored at 35 °C, even over 56 days. In addition, the effects of the [Cu(CDI)₂]²⁺ complex with different counter anions, that is, bromide, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, phthalate, and acetate, were compared using a series of tests. By comparing with N,N‐dimethyl‐N′‐phenylurea (fenuron), the widely used latent accelerator for DICY‐epoxy curing systems, the complexes with bromide and nitride were found to be better, both regarding storage stability and for their acceleration effect. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3470–3476     

Synthesis of aniline‐terminated polyethers and resulting polyurethane/polyurea elastomers

Functionalization of polyols with aromatic amines offers a potential route to modify properties of polyurethanes, polyamides, and epoxies. Additionally, aniline termination of polyether backbones provides the opportunity to speed up reactions with isocyanates relative to hydroxyl functionalization and slow down epoxy reactions compared to reactions with primary and secondary amines. In this article, the synthesis, characterization, and physical properties of aniline‐terminated polyols with varying molecular weight, monomer type, and functionality is described. Numerous analytical techniques are employed to track the chemical modification kinetics and the resulting aniline functionalized polyol properties. In addition, synthesis and properties of poly(urethane‐urea) elastomers from several of the modified polyols are presented. The effect of hard segment composition and process temperature on tensile properties, dynamic mechanical properties, phase morphology, and chemical resistance is explored. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1730–1742     

Carbonyldiimidazole‐accelerated efficient cure of epoxidized soybean oil with dicyandiamide

This study investigates the curing of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) using dicyandiamide (DICY) and combinations of DICY with several accelerators as curing agents. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results indicated that carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) is a highly efficient accelerator for the ESO‐DICY curing system. CDI accelerated ESO‐DICY curing system can gel within a short period of 13 min at 190 °C. The activation energies of the ESO‐DICY curing systems with and without CDI are 95 and 121 kJ mol^?1, respectively. Similar acceleration effect was observed in the ESO‐diglycidyl ether of biphenyl A (DGEBA) blending formulations. When the molar part of the glycidyl epoxy groups of DGEBA was equal to the internal epoxy groups of ESO in the mixture, gelation of the DICY curing system accelerated by CDI was achieved in 3 min at 160 °C. Furthermore, the DSC results with FTIR analysis suggest that the stoichiometric curing molar ratio was 3 ESO epoxy units per 1 DICY molecule. Two epoxy units reacted with DICY to give secondary alcohols, while the other one linked to the nitrile group. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 375–382     

Acceleration effect of five‐membered cyclic dithiocarbonate on an epoxy–amine curing system

A bifunctional cyclic five‐membered dithiocarbonate (DTC), having a bisphenol A structure, was found to be an effective accelerator for a epoxy–amine curing system comprised of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and amine‐terminated polypropylene glycol. The acceleration effect was evaluated by monitoring the time‐dependence of the storage modulus of the reaction mixture with a dynamic mechanical analyzer. The reactions involved in the curing system were investigated in detail by performing a series of model reactions using the corresponding monofunctional monomers. This investigation revealed that (1) DTC reacted with amine rapidly, (2) the reaction afforded the corresponding adduct having a thiourethane and thiol moieties, and (3) the thiol reacted rapidly with epoxide. The thiourethane moiety incorporated into the resulting adduct effectively catalyzed the reaction of epoxide and amine, and this catalysis was the predominant mechanism for the acceleration effect arisen by the addition of DTC. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4606–4611, 2007     

Degradable and chemically recyclable epoxy resins containing acetal linkages: Synthesis,properties, and application for carbon fiber‐reinforced plastics

Four sorts of epoxy resins containing degradable acetal linkages were synthesized by the reaction of bisphenol A (BA) or cresol novolak (CN) resin with vinyl ethers containing a glycidyl group [4‐vinlyoxybutyl glycidyl ether (VBGE) and cyclohexane dimethanol vinyl glycidyl ether (CHDMVG)] and cured with known typical amine‐curing agents. The thermal and mechanical properties of the cured resins were investigated. Among the four cured epoxy resins, the CN‐CHDMVG resin (derived from CN and CHDMVE) exhibited relatively high glass transition temperature (T_g = ca. 110 °C). The treatment of these cured epoxy resins with aqueous HCl in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at room temperature for 12 h generated BA and CN as degradation main products in high yield. Carbon fiber‐reinforced plastics (CFRPs) were prepared by heating the laminated prepreg sheets with BA‐CHDMVG (derived from BA and CHDMVE) and CN‐CHDMVG, in which strands of carbon fibers are impregnated with the epoxy resins containing conventional curing agents and curing accelerators. The obtained CFRPs showed good appearance and underwent smooth breakdown with the aqueous acid treatment in THF at room temperature for 24 h to produce strands of carbon fiber without damaging their surface conditions and tensile strength. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

From curing kinetics to network structure: A novel approach to the modeling of the network buildup of epoxy–anhydride thermosets

The curing kinetics and network buildup during curing of epoxy–anhydride formulations using tertiary amines as initiators are reviewed in this work. A mechanism‐based kinetic and structural model has been defined, showing better prediction capabilities than previous living polymerization and simple regeneration models. The curing kinetics have been analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the gelation during curing has been determined by combined thermomechanical analysis and DSC. The effect of initiator content and epoxy equivalent weight are taken into account. The network buildup has been modeled using a stochastic network buildup model based on the random combination of primary chains generated by the kinetic model. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 61–75     

Fluorescence probes for investigation of epoxy systems and monitoring of crosslinking processes

The fluorescence behavior of 1,1′‐dimethyl‐2,2′‐carbocyanine and p‐N,N‐dimethylamino‐styryl‐2‐ethylpyridinium was investigated in several epoxy systems. Time‐correlated single photon counting was used for all fluorescence measurements to obtain the rate constant for viscosity or mobility‐dependent nonradiative processes of the probe. Microviscosity effects were discussed on the basis of a model describing the microfriction between matrix and probe molecules. The probes investigated are able to detect the glass‐transition temperature of the materials investigated. These compounds also show a dependence on the mobility in the glassy state. The probes applied in this work also can be used to monitor the crosslinking process of several epoxy systems containing 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) as curing agent. The epoxides used for the crosslinking process were 2,2′‐[(1‐methylethylidene)bis(4,1‐phenyleneoxymethylene)bis‐oxiranemethaneamine] [common name, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)], N‐oxiranylmethyl‐N‐phenyl‐oxiranylmethane [common name, diglycidyl aniline (DGA)], and epoxy novolacs of different functionality. The networks obtained have a different morphology, which was studied by the fluorescence probe technology. The structure of the epoxy compound has an important influence on the probe behavior because both network density and size of the free volume influence the photochemical behavior of the probe. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1367–1386, 1999     

Preparation and characterization of novel hyperbranched poly(amido amine)s from Michael addition polymerizations of trifunctional amines with diacrylamides

Novel hyperbranched poly(amido amine)s containing tertiary amines in the backbones and acryl as terminal groups were synthesized via the Michael addition polymerizations of trifunctional amines with twofold molar diacrylamide. The hyperbranched structures of these poly(amido amine)s were verified by ¹³C NMR (INVGATE). The polymerization mechanisms were clarified by following the polymerization process with NMR method, and the results show that the reactivity of secondary amine formed in situ is much lower than that of the secondary amine in 1‐(2‐aminoethyl) piperazine (AEPZ) ring and the primary amine. The secondary amine formed in situ was almost kept out of the reaction before the primary and secondary amines in AEPZ were consumed, leading to the formation of the AB2 intermediate, and the further reaction of the AB2 yielded the hyperbranched polymers. The molecular weights and properties of poly(amindo amine)s obtained were characterized by GPC, DSC, and TGA, respectively. Based on the reaction of active acryl groups in the polymers obtained with glucosamine, hyperbranched polymers containing sugar were formed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5127–5137, 2005     

Synthesis and curing kinetics of cardanol‐based curing agents for epoxy resin by in situ depolymerization of paraformaldehyde

Three novel cardanol‐based phenalkamines with good stability have been successfully prepared by Mannich reaction using phenolic compounds with paraformaldehyde and hexamethylenediamine (or its mixture with other amines). The structure of the prepared phenalkamines has been analyzed using liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The curing kinetics of the prepared epoxy resin/phenalkamine systems has been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and determined by Kissinger, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, and Crane methods. Furthermore, the thermal properties of the cured materials have been evaluated using DSC and thermogravimetric analysis, and the mechanical properties of the cured materials have been analyzed systematically. The results demonstrate that the phenalkamine 1 (PAA1) had a lower reactivity and better toughness than phenalkamine 2 (PAA2) and phenalkamine 3 (PAA3). In addition, PAA1 is a solid curing agent, while PAA2 and PAA3 are liquid curing agents, which were more convenient for practical usage. Results indicate that the properties of the prepared phenalkamines strongly depend on the structures. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 472–480     

A new enone‐containing triglyceride derivative as precursor of thermosets from renewable resources

A novel triglyceride containing α,β‐unsaturated ketone was prepared through photoperoxidation from high oleic sunflower oil by two steps one pot environmentally friendly procedure. This new enone‐containing triglyceride was crosslinked with diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) via aza‐Michael addition. A kinetic study of the reaction of p‐toluidine with either enone‐containing methyl oleate or epoxidized methyl oleate, as model compounds, allowed us to establish the higher reactivity of the former, thus confirming this curing system as an alternative to amine‐cured epoxidized vegetable oils. The thermal properties of thermosets from enone‐ and epoxy‐containing triglycerides with DDM have been evaluated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6843–6850, 2008     

Crosslinking photocopolymerization of acrylic acid (and N‐vinylpyrrolidone) with triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate initiated by camphorquinone/ethyl‐4‐dimethylaminobenzoate

In this article, we report the camphorquinone/amine visible‐light‐induced photocopolymerization of monofunctional acrylic acid (AA), N‐vinylpyrrolidone (NVP), or both with difunctional triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) monomers followed by the crosslinking of pendant double‐bond groups of the resulting homopolymers and copolymers. Our primary objective was to study the photocopolymerizability of various mixtures of AA, NVP, and TEGDMA compositions at different molar ratios in air. The photocopolymerization of AA with TEGDMA occurred with the formation of two peaks at different rates of polymerization. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 876–886, 2000