Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol.38, No.4, 537-543, 2000
Thermal expansion of epoxide-amine networks in the glassy state
The dilatometric curves of 21 epoxide-amine network samples made from five distinct epoxide-amine pairs, with variable amine/epoxide functional ratio values for three of these pairs, were recorded in the 200 K to T-g (glass-transition temperature) - 50 K temperature range. The curves display a quasiparabolic shape consistent with an expansion law derived from a thermodynamic study [Bongkee, C. Polym Eng Sci 1985, 25(18), 135]: V = V-0 . exp(AT(2)) where V and V-0 are the volumes at T and 0 K, respectively, and A is a coefficient that varied for the studied samples between 2.5 X 10(-7) and 5.0 X 10(-7) K-2. A tentative study of the structure-property relationships in this field revealed that A does not depend significantly on the crosslink density, the cohesive energy density, the T-g, or the local mobility. In contrast, A seems to be sharply related to the chain flexibility, which essentially depends on the aromatic content in the studied structural series.