PMMA Modified DivinylEster-Styrene Systems. Phase Diagrams and Cured Material Morphologies

SCHROEDER, WALTER F.; YAÑEZ, MARÍA J.; ARANGUREN, MIRTA I.; BORRAJO, JULIO

Cancún, México

Conferencia; 8th International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materials, ICFPAM 2005; 2005

Cancún, México, 22-27 Abril 2005. (poster). Thermosetting polymers formulated with diviny;ester (DVE) resins are extensively used in a vast range of applications that requiere rigid materials resistant to high temperatures and solvents. However, as it occurs with many thermoset polymers, the use of this type of resins is limited by their brittleness, the high shrinkage that occurs during polymerization and the poor resistance to crack propagation. For these reasons, these resins are often used with modifiers, ?low profile additives? (LPA), to obtain improved surface properties and/or toughness . Among standard LPA, PMMA based modifiers are among the most widely used. The addition of a thermoplastic modifier instead of elastomers offers the advantage of less reduction of the modulus (a necessary consequence of adding rubber particles) while absorbing significant amounts of energy, offering in this way some toughening effect .