Kinetics Study on Thermal Decomposition of Polyepoxyphenylsilsesquioxane/Epoxy Resin Systems

The thermal decomposition kinetics of epoxy resin (EP) containing polyepoxyphenylsilsesquioxane (PEPSQ) was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in a nitrogen atmosphere. Kissinger and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods were both used to analyze the thermal decomposition process under nonisothermal conditions. The results showed that a slight increase of activation energy was observed in the presence of PEPSQ, which indicated that the addition of PEPSQ retarded the thermal decomposition of EP. The Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method further revealed that PEPSQ significantly increased the activation energy of the whole EP thermal decomposition, especially in the final stage of the thermal decomposition process, which is attributed to the PEPSQ stabilizing the char layer and improving the flame retardancy of EP.