Effect of an anhydride excess on the curing kinetics and dynamic mechanical properties of synthetic and biogenic epoxy resins

Abstract

This work analyzes the effect of the anhydride excess on the nonisothermal curing kinetics and on the final properties of synthetic and biobased epoxy resins. Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) were crosslinked using methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride (MTHPA) as a curing agent and 1-methylimidazole (1MI) as an initiator. It was shown that 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 of the 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.