Substituting the epoxy curing agent with a greener solution-towards sustainability

Abstract

Traditionally, resins and hardeners are produced by chemical and petroleum industries. These industries make use of non-renewable energy resources like fossil fuels for manufacturing the resins and curing agents. In addition, most of the conventional curing agents used in epoxy resins are highly noxious in nature causing skin allergies and asthma. The green epoxy resin is capable of reducing these toxic effects but have few shortcomings including its cost and the mechanical performance of cured epoxy resin. On the other hand, there is a dearth of investigation in the evolution of green or sustainable curing agents known as bio-binders. This paper presents the prediction of mechanical properties by replacement of conventional curing agent with amine derivative synthesized from bio-degradable resource in a thermoset epoxy resin system. The properties are predicted by molecular dynamics simulations using Materials Studio Software. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)