Crosslinking mechanism of an anhydride-cured epoxy resin as studied by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Fourier transform infrared spectra, including absorbance difference spectra, are presented which indicate that the accepted mechanism of tertiary amine-catalyzed copolymerization of cyclic anhydrides and epoxy resins requires modification. Results also show that the kinetic model is complicated by the lack of steady-state concentrations of the active species. The effect of silica filler and silane coupling agents on the reaction are also examined.