Search results

The paper's purpose is to optimise lab‐size synthesis process of a fluorene‐containing epoxy resin, characterise structure of the resulting epoxy resin and evaluate mechanical properties of the cured fluorene‐containing polymers.

The synthesis of the fluorene‐containing epoxy resin was accomplished by the polycondensation of 9,9‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐fluorene and epichlorohydrin in the presence of quaternary ammonium salt and composite solvent under vacuum. The chemical structure of epoxy resin thus obtained was characterised with FTIR, NMR and MS. The shear strengthes of cured fluorene‐containing epoxy resin were determined and compared with that of cured E‐44 bisphenol A epoxy resin and F‐44 novolac epoxy.

The epoxide equivalent weight (EEW) of the fluorene‐containing epoxy resin reached 240‐246 g/mol under optimal epoxidising condition. The resulting epoxy resin exhibited approximate high temperature performance relative to F‐44 novolac epoxy, much better heat resistance than that of E‐44 epoxy resin and lower moisture uptake than that of the two above‐described resins.

The shear strength of cured fluorene‐containing epoxy resin was relatively low at ambient temperature, whereas was much higher than that of bisphenol A epoxy resin at higher temperature, making it a potential candidate for many applications such as high temperature adhesives, coatings and matrix resins for advanced composite.

The method for preparation was modified and improved, structure characterisation was comprehensive. The material prepared could find numerous applications as heat‐resistant adhesives and matrix resins.

The acute shortage coupled with tremendous increase in cost of various solvents used by paint industry and pollution becoming a serious concern has resulted in intensive study of water‐borne coatings. Water‐borne coatings ideally meet the needs for coating systems which do not cause atmospheric pollutions and at the same time help in conservation of precious and renewable petroleum resources. Many research workers have developed water‐soluble epoxies, alkyds and acrylics to make water‐based surface coatings.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the photochromic performance of photochromic compounds in polymer matrices.

The poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA and epoxy resin doped with photochromic spirooxazine (SO) are prepared and the effects of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation are studied using spectrophotometer. The reversible reaction is effected using white light. Photochemical fatigue resistance of these films is also studied.

Irradiation of colourless 7′,8′‐dichloro‐1,3,3‐trimethylspiro[indoline‐2,3′‐[3H]benzo[b][1,4]oxazine] (SO) doped in PMMA and epoxy resin with UV light (366 nm) results in the formation of an intense purple‐red coloured zwitterionic photomerocyanine (PMC). The reverse reaction is photochemically induced by irradiation with white light. Photocolouration and photobleaching reactions follow a first‐order rate equation. It is found that photocoloration rate constant of (SO) in both matrices is almost the same, which is unexpected. On the other hand, the rate of photobleaching reaction of (PMC) in PMMA is twice slower than that in the epoxy resin. It seems that the presence of the two chlorine atoms at positions 7′ and 8′ of the benzooxazine moiety destabilise the PMC in epoxy resin film and results in speeding up the fading process compared to that in PMMA. SO doped in epoxy resin shows much better fatigue resistance than that doped in PMMA.

The PMMA and epoxy resin polymers doped photochromic spirobenzooxazine described in this paper were prepared and studied. The principle of study established can be applied to any type of polymer or to any type of photochromic compounds.

The photochromic materials developed can be used for different applications, such as coatings and holography.

The method developed may be used to enhance the performance of photochromic materials.

To evaluate the efficiency of modifying epoxy resin using phenol‐nonyl phenol based polymer (PNPF) for toughness improvement and optimise the results of such a modification.

For effective toughening, various compositions were made by incorporating PNPF at different concentrations. The impact and adhesive strengths of the unmodified and modified epoxy networks were characterised.

The modification of epoxy resin using PNPF showed significant enhancement of impact and adhesive strengths over the unmodified one. The modification caused the formation of a chemical linkage between PNPF and resin which led not only to a phase separation, but also to formation of intrinsically strong chemical bonds across the PNPF phase/resin matrix interphase, which was the main cause of the improved impact and adhesive strengths. The optimum results were obtained at 10 phr (parts per 100 parts of epoxy resin) of modifier.

The modifier, PNPF, used in the present context was synthesised from phenol, nonyl phenol and formalin using oxalic acid as catalyst.

The developed method provided a simple and practical solution to improving the toughness of a cured epoxy.

The method for enhancing toughness of a cured epoxy was novel and could find numerous applications in the surface coating and adhesive.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the photochromic performance of photochromic compounds in polymer matrices.

The poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and epoxy resin doped with photochromic spirobenzopyran were prepared and the effects of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation were studied using spectrophotometer. The reversible reaction was effected using white light. Photochemical fatigue resistance of these films was also studied.

Irradiation of colourless 1′,3′,3′‐trimethyl‐6‐nitrospiro[2H‐1‐benzopyran‐2,2′‐indoline] spiropyran (SP) doped in PMMA and epoxy resin with UV light (366 nm) results in the formation of an intense purple‐red coloured zwitterionic photomerocyanine (PMC). The reverse reaction was photochemically induced by irradiation with white light. Photocolouration of SP doped in PMMA follows a first‐order rate equation (k=0.0011 s⁻¹), while that doped in epoxy resin deviates from linearity. It was found that photobleaching follows a first‐order equation in both matrices. The photobleaching rate constant of PMC in both matrices is the same and equals 0.0043 s⁻¹. Spirobenzopyran doped in PMMA shows better fatigue resistance than that doped in epoxy resin.

The PMMA and epoxy resin polymers doped with photochromic spirobenzopyran described in the present paper were prepared and studied. The principle of study established can be applied to any type of polymer or to any type of photochromic compounds.

The photochromic materials developed can be used for different applications, such as coatings and holography.

The method developed may be used to enhance the performance of photochromic materials.

To evaluate the efficiency of modifying epoxy resin using amine terminated poly(ethylene glycol) benzoate (ATPEGB) for improved toughness and to optimise the results of such a modification.

For effective toughening, various compositions were made by incorporating different concentrations of ATPEGB. The impact and adhesive strengths of the unmodified and modified epoxy networks were characterised.

The modification of epoxy resin using ATPEGB showed significant enhancement of impact and adhesive strengths over the unmodified one. The modification caused a chemical linkage between ATPEGB and resin which led not only to a phase separation but also to ensuring the intrinsically strong chemical bonds across the ATPEGB phase/resin matrix interface, which was the main cause to the improved impact and adhesive strengths. The optimum results were obtained at 12.5 phr (parts per hundred parts of epoxy resin) of modifier.

The modifier, ATPEGB, used in the present context was synthesised from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of molecular weight 600. Besides, it could be synthesised from PEG of molecular weight 200, 400, 4,000, 20,000 etc. In addition, the efficiency of modification of epoxy resin using these could also be studied.

The method developed provided a simple and practical solution to improving the toughness of cured epoxy.

The method for enhanced toughness of cured epoxy was novel and could find numerous applications in surface coating and adhesive.

To evaluate the performance of the blends of Mesua ferrea L. seed oil based polyurethane resins with a commercially available bisphenol‐A epoxy resin at different weight ratios.

For effective improvement of their various properties, polyurethane‐ester (PE) and polyurethane‐amide (PA) resins of Mesua ferrea L. seed oil were blended with a commercially available bisphenol‐A‐based epoxy (EP) in different ratios (PE or PA:EP = 100:40, 100:50 and 100:60 by weight) by using the solution blending technique in xylene. The tensile strength, impact strength, adhesive strength, flexibility, hardness, elongation at break, swelling behaviour and chemical resistance in different media of the films for both the blends have been studied.

The blending of PE and PA resins of Mesua ferrea L. seed oil with a commercially available bisphenol‐A‐based epoxy (EP) showed very good compatibility of the components as observed by SEM study. The blending also significantly improved the performance characteristics such as drying time, tensile strength, impact strength, adhesive strength, chemical resistance, etc. of the films.

The epoxy resin and the hardener are used of a particular grade of a particular manufacturer. Further, it could be obtained from different sources and of different grades. In addition, the performance characteristics could also be studied to optimise the exact blend ratio.

The method developed provided a simple and practical solution to improve the performance characteristic of polyurethane resin with less than one NCO/OH ratio.

The method for improving the performance characteristics of epoxy modified vegetable oil based polyurethane is something novel and could find numerous applications in surface coatings, adhesive and thin film.

The purpose of this paper is to find a new toughening agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) resin and to check effectiveness of this new toughening agent to obtain toughness and chemical resistance of cured epoxy.

For this purpose, an investigation was carried out to synthesise, characterise and to study the toughening reaction of amine functional aniline furfuraldehyde condensate (AFAFFC) with DGEBA resin. AFAFFC was first synthesised from the reaction of aniline and furfuraldehyde in the acid medium (pH‐4) and characterised by FT‐IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and concentration of primary and secondary amine analysis. Then various formulations were made by mixing DGEBA, AFAFFC and ambient temperature curing agent triethylene tetramine (TETA) in different compositions and the modified networks were evaluated to their mechanical and thermal properties. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of toughened epoxy were also reported.

The resulting networks developed a two‐phase microstructure upon network formation and displayed significantly improved fracture toughness. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed two‐phase morphology in the cured networks where AFAFFC particles were dispersed. TGA showed that the AFAFFC modified epoxy network was thermally stable up to around 311°C.

The toughening agent AFAFFC has been synthesised by using aniline and furfuraldehyde. By changing amine and aldehyde other toughening agents could be synthesised and efficiency of these toughening agent for epoxy resin could also be studied.

The method for toughening of epoxy resin (DGEBA) is novel and relevant, as the toughened products have high performance applications in protective coatings, adhesives for most substrates and matrix resins for composites.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a technology that is suitable for the production of the 80,000 MTPY series of epoxy resins on an industrial scale.

This paper introduces the synthesis and processing of epoxy resins, including liquid epoxy resins (DGEBA) (E-51 and E-44), brominated bisphenol A-based epoxy resins (EX-23-80A), semisolid epoxy resins based on DGEBA (E-39D) and solid epoxy resins based on DGEBA (E-21). The study analyses the theoretical raw materials of epoxy resins per tonne, and lists an example of a distributed control system (DCS) to explain that the production process of 80,000 MTPY epoxy resins can be automated.

A two-step method was used to produce either E-51 or E-44 sequentially in the pre-reactor, the reactor, the recycling kettle, refining kettle (1), the refining kettle (2) and the desensitizing kettle or the falling-film evaporator. An advancement process was adopted to manufacture EX-23-80A, E-39D and E-21 using E-51 as a raw material in the predominating kettle and the mixing kettle, the adding kettle (1) and the adding kettle (2), separately. All the processes were controlled automatically by DCS to yield the products.

The results support the assertion that the technology developed by the authors ' company to produce 80,000 MTPY epoxy resins results in fewer side reactions and higher yield production.

The manufacture of polymer composites with a lower environmental footprint requires incorporation of sustainably sourced components. In addition, the incorporation of novel components should not compromise the material properties. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of a synthetic amine functional toluidine acetaldehyde condensate (AFTAC) as a modifier for fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. One of the fiber components was sourced from agricultural byproducts, and glass fiber was used as the fiber component for comparison.

The AFTAC condensate was synthesized via an acid-catalyzed reaction between o-toluidine and acetaldehyde. To demonstrate its efficacy as a toughening agent for diglycidyl ether bisphenol A resin composites and for the comparison of reinforcing materials of interest, composites were fabricated using a natural fiber (mat stick) and a synthetic glass fiber as the reinforcing material. A matched metal die technique was used to fabricate the composites. Composites were prepared and their mechanical and thermal properties were evaluated.

The inclusion of AFTAC led to an improvement in the mechanical strengths of these composites without any significant deterioration of the thermal stability. It was also observed that the fracture strengths for mat stick fiber-reinforced composites were lower than that of glass fiber-reinforced composites.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the use of the AFTAC modifier as well as incorporation of mat stick fibers in epoxy composites has not been demonstrated previously.