Cure kinetics of cycloaliphatic epoxy/silica system for electrical insulation materials in outdoor applications

Abstract

The cure kinetics of a neat epoxy system and epoxy/silica composite were investigated by DSC analysis. A cycloaliphatic type epoxy resin was diglycidyl 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylate and curing agent was anhydride type. To estimate kinetic parameters, the Kissinger equation was used. The activation energy of the neat epoxy system was 88.9 kJ/mol and pre-exponential factor was 2.64×10 12 min -1, while the activation energy and pre-exponential factor for epoxy/silica composite were 97.4 kJ/mol and 9.21×10 12 min -1, respectively. These values showed that the silica particles have effects on the cure kinetics of the neat epoxy matrix.