Effect of an Anhydride Excess on the Curing Kinetics and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Synthetic and Biogenic Epoxy Resins

ALTUNA, FACUNDO I.; RICCARDI, CARMEN C.; MARÍN QUINTERO, DIANA C.; RUSECKAITE, ROXANA A.; STEFANI, PABLO M.

International Journal of Polymer Science

HINDAWI

Año: 2019 vol. 2019 p. 1 - 8

1687-9422

This work analyzes the effect of the anhydride excess on the nonisothermal curing kinetics and on the final properties of syntheticand biobased epoxy resins. Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) were crosslinked usingmethyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride (MTHPA) as a curing agent and 1-methylimidazole (1MI) as an initiator. It was shownthat the ESO/MTHPA/1MI system reacts slower than the DGEBA/MTHPA/1MI system, giving place to a more significant evaporation of the curing agent during the reaction. As a result, an excess of anhydride improves the final thermal properties of the ESO/MTHPA/1MI network, contrary to the behavior observed for DGEBA/MTHPA/1MI. The knowledge of the kinetics ofthe curing process and the optimal amount of the curing agent for each system is of critical importance for a more efficient processing of these materials.