Polymer, Vol.37, No.11, 2195-2200, 1996
Influence of Cure Schedule and Stoichiometry on the Dynamic-Mechanical Behavior of Tetrafunctional Epoxy-Resins Cured with Anhydrides
Epoxy networks based on N,N,N’,N’-tetraglycidyl-4,4’-diamino diphenylmethane (TGDDM) prepolymer were prepared with cis-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride (THPA) curing agent at anhydride/epoxy group ratios varying from 0.3 to 1.0. For post-cured mixtures, dynamic mechanical tests show that the glass transition temperature reaches the maximum value at stoichiometric ratios between 0.8 and 0.9. This behaviour has been related to the crosslink density of the formed networks, and also to etherification reactions occurring during cure which lower the amount of anhydride needed in order to complete the curing process. The study of cure cycle variations on the viscoelastic properties showed that for epoxy/anhydride mixtures high post-cure temperatures could be needed to reduce the amount of unreacted epoxy groups after curing. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy has been used to analyse the residual epoxy groups and also to study the influence of the different cure reactions on the physical properties of these networks.
Keywords:INFRARED-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY;STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONS;DIAMINE NETWORK POLYMERS;MOLECULAR RELAXATIONS;CROSSLINK DENSITY;GLASS-TRANSITION;AMINE;KINETICS;REGION;SYSTEM