Curing kinetics of bio-based epoxy resin-toughened DGEBA epoxy resin blend

In the present study, TEIA bioresin was blended with the diglycidyl ether bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin in different ratios (i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40 mass%), cured with methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride curing agent in the presence of 2-methylimidazole catalyst. The optimized composition of DGEBA and TEIA bioresin blends system was employed as an adhesive strength. The adhesive strength of the TEIA-modified DGEBA epoxy resin blend system was increased from 4.14 to 6.31 MPa on an aluminium substrate compared to the DGEBA epoxy resin. The curing kinetics of non-isothermal, DGEBA epoxy resin and its bio-based blend systems were investigated employing differential scanning calorimetry. An increase in the peak temperature and reduction in a heat of curing as well as activation energy in DGEBA epoxy resin were observed with the addition of TEIA bioresin content. The activation energy (E_a) of the DGEBA resin and their bio-based blend system were obtained from Kissinger and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods.

     

Curing reaction of o-cresol novolac epoxy resin according to hardener change

The investigations of cure kinetics and glass transition temperature (T_g) versus reaction conversion (α) of o-cresol novolac epoxy resin with the change of hardener were performed. All kinetic parameters of the curing reaction such as the reaction rate order, activation energy, and frequency factor were calculated. The curing mechanisms were classified into two types. One was an autocatalytic mechanism and the other was a nth order kinetic mechanism. The constants related to the chain mobility of polymer segments were obtained by using the DiBenedetto equation. We have tried to correlate the relationships between curing mechanism and molecular structures of hardeners from these results. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Curing reaction of biphenyl epoxy resin with different phenolic functional hardeners

The investigation of cure kinetics and relationships between glass transition temperature and conversion of biphenyl epoxy resin (4,4′-diglycidyloxy-3,3′,5,5′-tetramethyl biphenyl) with different phenolic hardeners was performed by differential scanning calorimeter using an isothermal approach over the temperature range 120–150°C. All kinetic parameters of the curing reaction including the reaction order, activation energy, and rate constant were calculated and reported. The results indicate that the curing reaction of formulations using xylok and dicyclopentadiene type phenolic resins (DCPDP) as hardeners proceeds through a first-order kinetic mechanism, whereas the curing reaction of formulations using phenol novolac as a hardener goes through an autocatalytic kinetic mechanism. The differences of curing reaction with the change of hardener in biphenyl epoxy resin systems were explained with the relationships between T_g and reaction conversion using the DiBenedetto equation. A detailed cure mechanism in biphenyl-type epoxy resin with the different hardeners has been suggested. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 773–783, 1998     

Kinetics studies on the accelerated curing of liquid crystalline epoxy resin/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites

A new class of nanocomposite has been fabricated from liquid crystalline (LC) epoxy resin of 4,4′‐bis(2,3‐epoxypropoxy) biphenyl (BP), 4,4′‐diamino‐diphenyl sulfone (DDS), and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The surface of the CNTs was functionalized by LC epoxy resin (ef‐CNT). The ef‐CNT can be blended well with the BP that is further cured with an equivalent of DDS to form nanocomposite. We have studied the curing kinetics of this nanocomposite using isothermal and nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dependence of the conversion on time can fit into the autocatalytic model before the vitrification, and then it becomes diffusion control process. The reaction rate increases and the activation energy decreases with increasing concentration of the ef‐CNT. At 10 wt % of ef‐CNT, the activation energy of nanocomposite curing is lowered by about 20% when compared with the neat BP/DDS resin. If the ef‐CNT was replaced by thermal‐insulating TiO₂ nanorods on the same weight basis, the decrease of activation energy was not observed. The result indicates the accelerating effect on the nanocomposite was raised from the high‐thermal conductivity of CNT and aligned LC epoxy resin. However, at ef‐CNT concentration higher than 2 wt %, the accelerating effect of ef‐CNTs also antedates the vitrification and turns the reaction to diffusion control driven. As the molecular motions are limited, the degree of cure is lowered. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Effect of new nonionic curing agent on curing kinetics and mechanical properties of epoxy resin

The current research work presents a novel nonionic curing agent (AEDA) synthesized by utilizing ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE), 3,4-dimethoxyaniline (DI), and triethylenetetramine (TETA). Infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure of AEDA curing agent. Non-isothermal scanning calorimetry was used to determine the activation energy and curing conditions of epoxy resin in the curing process. An impact testing machine, a tensile testing machine and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to analyze the impact strength, tensile strength, bending strength, and micromorphology of the AEDA/E-51 system with different mass ratios. The results show that AEDA is an effective high-temperature curing agent. For the AEDA/E-51 system with the optimal mass ratio of 10:100, the best curing temperature is 92.15°C, and the post-curing temperature is 135.65°C. Furthermore, the apparent activation energy (E_a) of 1670 J/mol, the pre-exponential factor (A) of 3.7 × 10^?4, and the reaction series (n) value of 0.76 are obtained for the AEDA/E-51 system. The impact strength of AEDA/E-51 epoxy resin polymer is 7.82 kJ/m², tensile strength is 14.2 MPa, and bending strength is 18.92 MPa. The micromorphological results of the AEDA/E-51 system are consistent with the results of DSC test and mechanical properties test. Hence, this study provides theoretical support for the practical applications of AEDA as curing agent.     

Mechanism Studies on Water Sorption and Permeation in Epoxy Resin by Impedance Spectroscopy. II. Cure Kinetics of O-Cresol Novolac Resin with Esterfied Phenol Novolac Resin

Abstract

To study the effect of water affinity of the cured epoxy resin on water sorption and permeation in the cured epoxy resin, a novel hardener (esterfied phenol novolac was synthesized and used for obtaining the cured product without free hydroxyl group. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to study the cure kinetics of o-cresol novolac epoxy resin using esterfied phenol novolac resin as curing agent in the presence of 2-methylimidazole as accelerator. Some kinetic parameters of the curing reaction such as the reaction order, activation energy, and frequency factor were obtained in the temperature range studied. The results show that this curing process is a first-order kinetic mechanism, which was different with that cured with phenol novolac resin.     

Pulsed NMR study of the curing process of epoxy resin

To analyze a curing process of epoxy resin in terms of molecular motion, we adapted a pulsed NMR method. Three kinds of (1)H spin-spin relaxation times (T(2L) (long), T(2S) (short) and T(2M) (intermediate)) were estimated from observed solid echo train signals as the curing process proceeded. A short T(2S) value below 20 micros suggests the existence of a motion-restricted chain, that is, cured elements of resin, and its fraction, P(S), sigmoidally increased with the curing time. On the other hand, the fraction of T(2L), P(L), decreased with the reaction time reciprocally against P(S), suggesting the disappearance of highly mobile molecules raised from pre-cured resin. The spin-lattice relaxation time, T(1), was also measured to check another aspect of molecular motion in the process. T(1) of the mixed epoxy resin and curing agent gradually increased just after mixing both of them. This corresponds to an increment of a less-mobile fraction, of which the correction time is more than 10(-6) s, and also means that the occurrence of a network structure whose mobility is strongly restricted by chemically bonded bridges between the epoxy resin and curing agent. The time courses of these parameters coincided with those of IR peaks pertinent to the curing reaction. Therefore, pulsed NMR is a useful tool to monitor the hardening process of epoxy resin in real time non-distractively in terms of the molecular motion of protons.     

Organic/inorganic hybrid epoxy nanocomposites based on octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane

Octa(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane (OAPS) was used as the curing agent of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin. A study on comparison of DGEBA/OAPS with DGEBA/4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) epoxy resins was achieved. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the curing reaction and its kinetics, and the glass transition of DGEBA/OAPS. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to investigate thermal decomposition of the two kinds of epoxy resins. The reactions between amino groups and epoxy groups were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe morphology of the two epoxy resins. The results indicated that OAPS had very good compatibility with DGEBA in molecular level, and could form a transparent DGEBA/OAPS resin. The curing reaction of the DGEBA/OAPS prepolymer could occur under low temperatures compared with DGEBA/DDS. The DGEBA/OAPS resin didn’t exhibit glass transition, but the DGEBA/DDS did, which meant that the large cage structure of OAPS limited the motion of chains between the cross-linking points. Measurements of the contact angle indicated that the DGEBA/OAPS showed larger angles with water than the DGEBA/DDS resin. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the incorporation of OAPS into epoxy system resulted in low mass loss rate and high char yield, but its initial decomposition temperature seemed to be lowered.     

酸酐固化环氧树脂/蒙脱土复合材料的等温固化动力学

用等温差示扫描量热法(DSC)研究了酸酐固化环氧树脂/蒙脱土复合材料的等温固化过程，考察了未处理的蒙脱土(MMT)和有机蒙脱土(OMMT)对环氧树脂固化动力学的影响. 实验表明， 环氧树脂的固化过程包含自催化机理，加入蒙脱土没有改变固化反应机理. 用Kamal方程对该体系的固化过程进行拟合，得到反应级数m、n，反应速率常数k1、k2，总反应级数(m + n)在2.4～3.0之间. MMT的加入使环氧树脂体系的k1、k2有所降低，而OMMT的加入对体系的k1、k2影响较为复杂，加入蒙脱土对环氧树脂固化体系的活化能影响较小.     

Insights into phthalonitrile/epoxy blends modification system from non-competitive cure system based on alicyclic anhydride

A series of polymer blends were prepared from 1,3-bis(3,4-dicyanophenoxy)benzene (3BOCN) and epoxy resin with methyl tetrahydrophthalic anhydride as curing agent.The curing behavior and curing kinetics of the blends were studied by differential scanning calorimetry.The apparent activation energy of the blends with various contents of 3BOCN was higher than that of the blends without 3BOCN.A model experiment suggested that there is no obvious reaction between phthalonitrile and epoxy.The thermal and mechanical properties of the polymer blends were evaluated.The polymer blends exhibit high storage modulus and char yield compared with the neat epoxy.The polymer blends show ductile fracture morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images.     

Influence of surface modified graphene oxide on the mechanical performance and curing kinetics of epoxy resin

In this study, the hyperbranched polyester were successfully grafted onto graphene oxide (GO). The mechanical performance and curing kinetics of epoxy resin (EP), EP/ graphene oxide (EP/GO), and EP/ hyperbranched polyester grafted GO (EP/GO‐B) were investigated by means of mechanical tests and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results revealed that the presence of GO lowered the cure temperature and accelerated the curing of EP, and the addition of GO‐B exhibited a stronger effect in accelerating the cure of EP compared with GO. Activation energies were calculated using Kissinger approach, and Ozawa approach, respectively. Results revealed lowered activation energy after the addition of GO or GO‐B at low degrees of cure, indicating that GO had a large effect on the curing reaction. The presence of GO facilitated the curing reaction, especially the initial epoxy‐amine reaction. Moreover, GO‐B exhibited better performance. Related mechanism was proposed.     

Study on curing reaction of epoxy resin modified with prepolymers containing spiro orthocarbonate

Prepolymers were prepared by the reaction of 3,9-dihydroxyethyl-3′9′-dibenzyl-1,5,7,11-tetraoxaspiro(5,5)undecane with 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,6-hexa-methylene diisocyanate (HDI). The number-average molecular weights of the prepolymers can be controlled by changing the mole ratios of spiro compound and diisocyanates. Kinetic studies of the cure reaction for the epoxy resin system modified with or without prepolymers were followed by a HLX-1 dynamic torsional vibration apparatus. The results indicated that gel time (t_g) and activation energy (E_a) increased as the content of prepolymers in the epoxy resin system increased. A difference with the cure reaction of the pure epoxy resin, the second-order reaction for the epoxy resin modified with the prepolymers, was obtained. Rate constants (k) of the cure reaction are 0.231 min^?1 for the epoxy resin, and 0.312 min^?1 for the modified epoxy resin. The mechanism of the cure reaction was discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cure kinetics of liquid crystalline epoxy resins based on biphenyl mesogen

The cure kinetics of a biphenyl-based liquid crystalline (LC) epoxy resin (LCER) was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy. The effects of LC phase formation on the cure kinetics were investigated. Both a model-free isoconversional method and a model-fitting method were used to analyze the DSC data. Results from the isoconversional analysis were applied to develop tentative multi-step kinetic models describing the curing reaction. Kinetic analysis showed that compared to the resins cured in amorphous phase, LCERs exhibited higher values of reaction enthalpy and a complex dependence of activation energy on the degree of cure. The formation of the LC phase resulted in a decrease in activation energy, leading to higher degree of reaction.     

The effects of glass beads and silane treatments on the curing behavior of a brominated epoxy resin: DSC analyses

The curing characteristics of a brominated epoxy resin/dicyandiamide (DICY) system filled with silane-treated glass beads are studied using isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Three different silane coupling agents, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane, N-[2-(vinylbenzylamino)-ethyl]-3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane, and 3-glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane, are applied. It is found that the reaction heats of the epoxy system are little affected by the curing temperature and the untreated glass fillers, but changed with the addition of silane-coated glass beads. The effect of glass beads on the curing reaction is more significant at the low curing temperature and conversion. The silane treatment results in changes in T_g, activation energy, reaction heat, reaction rate, and reaction order. Three silanes respond differently because of their differences in the activated reaction with the matrix system. Regardless of the various curing mechanisms involved, a simple kinetic expression can describe the curing extent at 170 and 180°C with a good accuracy for all systems studied. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 2063–2071, 1997     

端噁唑啉聚醚对环氧树脂的固化与增韧作用的研究

用IR、DSC等分析方法研究了端2-噁唑啉聚环氧丙烷(活性聚醚)与环氧树脂的固化反应,对固化机理作了讨论。并考察了不同分子量活性聚醚对环氧树脂的增韧作用。结果表明,此活性聚醚对环氧树脂增韧效果明显,固化树脂综合性能较好。     

Cure behavior of epoxy resin/MMT/DETA nanocomposite

The Flory's gelation theory, non-equilibrium thermodynamic fluctuation theory and Avrami equation have been used to predict the gel time t _g and the cure behavior of epoxy resin/organo-montmorillonite/diethylenetriamine intercalated nanocomposites at various temperatures and organo-montmorillonite loadings. The theoretical prediction is in good agreement with the experimental results obtained by dynamic torsional vibration method, and the results show that the addition of organo-montmorillonite reduces the gelation time t _gand increases the rate of curing reaction, the value of k, and half-time of cure after gelation point t_1/2 decreases with the increasing of cure temperature, and the value of n is ~2 at the lower temperatures (<60°C) and decreases to ~1.5 as the temperature increases, and the addition of organo-montmorillonite decreases the apparent activation energy of the cure reaction before gelation point, but has no apparent effect on the apparent activation energy of the cure reaction after gelation point. There is no special curing process required for the formation of epoxy resin/organo-montmorillonite/diethylenetriamine intercalated nanocomposite. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New curing agents for epoxy resins: protoporphyrins

Two similar macrocycles protoporphyrin IX and zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZPP) have been used as cross‐linking agents for curing the epoxy resin of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE, n = 0). The enthalpies and the activation energies of the esterification reaction of the 2 systems are very close to each other. However, the temperature of the minimum in the differential scanning calorimetry thermogram is 38°C lower for BADGE (n = 0)/ZPP, thus requiring a less energy expenditure for curing the system. By the contrary, the enthalpy and activation energies for the etherification reaction are lower and higher, respectively, for BADGE (n = 0)/ZPP suggesting that the zinc ion affects it, although the involved mechanism is unknown.     

FTIR法研究环氧树脂固化反应动力学

用傅里叶红外光谱（ＦＴＩＲ）法研究了双酚Ｓ环氧树脂和甲溴双酚Ａ环氧树脂分别与二胺基二苯砜在恒温条件下的固化反应动力学,得出了各反应的表观活化能。     

Synthesis and characterization of novel polythiourethane hardeners for epoxy resins

A novel thiol-terminated polythiourethanes were synthesized from low-molecular-weight di- and multifunctional mercaptans and diisocyanates and employed as curing agent of epoxy resin. The curing reaction of epoxy resin and thermal properties of cured products were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry. Evaluation of climatic ageing resistance was made by the change in mechanical properties. Mechanical studies indicated that the application of polythiourethane has toughening effect and significantly increases ageing resistance of the cured resins. The results of this study indicate that molecular structure and functionality of polythiourethane oligomers are of critical importance in governing the curing mechanism, structure of the network and final properties of epoxy compositions.