Phase morphology and mechanical properties of polyetherimide modified epoxy resins: A comparative study

Synergistic Effects of Liquid Rubber and Thermoplastic Particles for Toughening Epoxy Resin

This study aims to investigate the toughening effects of rubber and thermoplastic particles on epoxy resin (EP), and to understand the mechanism underlying their synergistic effect. For this purpose, three EP systems were prepared using diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin (E-54) and 4,4-Diamino diphenyl methane (Ag-80) as matrix resin, 4,4-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) as a curing agent, and phenolphthalein poly (aryl ether ketone) particles (PEK-C) and carboxyl-terminated butyl liquid rubber (CTBN) as toughening agents. These systems are classified as an EP/PEK-C toughening system, EP/CTBN toughening system, and EP/PEK-C/CTBN synergistic toughening system. The curing behavior, thermal properties, mechanical properties, and phase structure of the synergistic-toughened EP systems were comprehensively investigated. The results showed that PEK-C did not react with EP, while CTBN reacted with EP to form a flexible block polymer. The impact toughness of EP toughened by PEK-C/CTBN was improved obviously without significantly increasing viscosity or decreasing thermal stability, flexural strength, and modulus, and the synergistic toughening effect was significantly higher than that of the single toughening system. The notable improvement in toughness is believed to be due to the synergistic energy dissipation effect of PEK-C/CTBN.

Regulation of the Phase Structure in the Crystallizing Curing System PCL-DGEBA

Qualitative and quantitative aspects of the formation of various types of phase structures, sizes and compositions were considered. For the studied polycaprolactone-epoxy resin/4,4'-diaminediphenylsulfone system, a phase diagram characterized by amorphous separation with a lower critical solution temperature was constructed and its evolution was traced with increasing conversion degree of epoxy groups. A method is proposed for determining the temperature-concentration parameters that determine the type of phase structure of composite materials, based on the optical interferometry method. All types of phase structures and features of structure formation in the phase reversal region and at its boundaries have been studied using optical and scanning electron microscopy methods. The dimensions of the structural elements were determined and their correlation with the temperature and concentration regimes of the system's curing was established. The composition of phases in cured compositions was studied using FTIR spectroscopy, DSC and scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that by varying the temperature-concentration parameters of curing reactive thermoplastic systems, it is possible to specifically regulate the type of phase structure, phase sizes and their composition, which determine the operational properties of the material.

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Epoxy Resin upon Addition of Low-Viscosity Modifier

Thermoset-based polymer composites containing functional fillers are promising materials for a variety of applications, such as in the aerospace and medical fields. However, the resin viscosity is often unsuitably high and thus impedes a successful filler dispersion in the matrix. This challenge can be overcome by incorporating suitable low-viscosity modifiers into the prepolymer. While modifiers can aptly influence the prepolymer rheology, they can also affect the prepolymer curing behavior and the mechanical and thermal properties of the resulting matrix material. Therefore, this study investigates the effects that a commercial-grade low-viscosity additive (butyl glycidyl ether) has on a common epoxy polymer system (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A epoxy with a methylene dianiline curative). The weight percentage of the modifier inside the epoxy was varied from 0 to 20%. The rheological properties and cure kinetics of the resulting materials were investigated. The prepolymer viscosity decreased by 97% with 20 wt% modifier content at room temperature. Upon curing, 20 wt% modifier addition reduced the exothermic peak temperature by 12% and prolonged the time to reach the peak by 60%. For cured material samples, physical and thermo-mechanical properties were characterized. A moderate reduction in glass transition temperature and an increase in elastic modulus was observed with 20 wt% modifier content (in the order of 10%). Based on these findings, the selected material system is seen as an expedient base for material design due to the ease of processing and material availability. The present study thus provides guidance to researchers developing polymer composites requiring reduced prepolymer viscosity for successful functional filler addition.

Synergistic Toughening of Epoxy through Layered Poly(ether imide) with Dual-Scale Morphologies

Toughness of epoxies is commonly improved by adding thermoplastic phases, which is achieved through dissolution and phase separation at the microscale. However, little is known about the synergistic effects of toughening phases on multiple scales. Therefore, here, we study the toughening of epoxies with layered poly(ether imide) (PEI) structures at the meso- to macroscale combined with gradient morphologies at the microscale originating from reaction-induced phase separation. Characteristic features of the gradient morphology were controlled by the curing temperature (120-200 °C), while the layered macro structure originates from facile scaffold manufacturing techniques with varying poly(ether imide) layer thicknesses (50-120 μm). The fracture toughness of the modified epoxy system is investigated as a function of varying cure temperature (120-200 °C) and PEI film thickness (50-120 μm). Interestingly, the result shows that the fracture toughness of modified epoxy was mainly controlled by the macroscopic feature, being the final PEI layer thickness, i.e., film thickness remaining after partial dissolution and curing. Remarkably, as the PEI layer thickness exceeds the plastic zone around the crack tip, around 62 μm, the fracture toughness of the dual scale morphology exceeds the property of bulk PEI in addition to a 3 times increase in the property of pure epoxy. On the other hand, when the final PEI thickness was smaller than 62 μm, the fracture toughness of the modified epoxy was lower than pure PEI but still higher than pure epoxy (1.5-2 times) and "bulk toughened" system with the same volume percentage, which indicates the governing mechanism relating to microscale interphase morphology. Interestingly, decreasing the gradient microscale interphase morphology can be used to trigger an alternative failure mode with a higher crack tortuosity. By combining facile scaffold assemblies with reaction-induced phase separation, dual-scale morphologies can be tailored over a wide range, leading to intricate control of fracture mechanisms with a hybrid material exceeding the toughness of the tougher phase.

Fracture of Epoxy Matrixes Modified with Thermo-Plastic Polymers and Winding Glass Fibers Reinforced Plastics on Their Base under Low-Velocity Impact Condition

The work is aimed at studying the impact resistance of epoxy oligomer matrices (EO) modified with polysulfone (PSU) or polyethersulfone (PES) and glass fibers reinforced plastics (GFRP) based on them under low-velocity impact conditions. The concentration dependences of strength and fracture energy of modified matrices and GFRP were determined. It has been determined that the type of concentration curves of the fracture energy of GFRP depends on the concentration and type of the modifying polymer. It is shown that strength σ and fracture energy E_M of thermoplastic-modified epoxy matrices change little in the concentration range from 0 to 15 wt.%. However, even with the introduction of 20 wt.% PSU into EO, the strength increases from 164 MPa to 200 MPa, and the fracture energy from 32 kJ/m² to 39 kJ/m². The effect of increasing the strength and fracture energy of modified matrices is retained in GFRP. The maximum increase in shear strength (from 72 MPa to 87 MPa) is observed for GFRP based on the EO + 15 wt.% PSU matrix. For GFRP based on EO + 20 wt.% PES, the shear strength is reduced to 69 MPa. The opposite effect is observed for the EO + 20 wt.% PES matrix, where the strength value decreases from 164 MPa to 75 MPa, and the energy decreases from 32 kJ/m² to 10 kJ/m². The reference value for the fracture energy of GFRP 615 is 741 kJ/m². The maximum fracture energy for GFRP is based on EO + 20 wt.% PSU increases to 832 kJ/m² for GFRP based on EO + 20 wt.% PES-up to 950 kJ/m². The study of the morphology of the fracture surfaces of matrices and GFRP confirmed the dependence of impact characteristics on the microstructure of the modified matrices and the degree of involvement in the process of crack formation. The greatest effect is achieved for matrices with a phase structure "thermoplastic matrix-epoxy dispersion." Correlations between the fracture energy and strength of EO + PES matrices and GFRP have been established.

A New Strategy to Improve the Toughness of Epoxy Thermosets-By Introducing Poly(ether nitrile ketone)s Containing Phthalazinone Structures

As high brittleness limits the application of all epoxy resins (EP), here, it can be modified by high-performance thermoplastic poly(ether nitrile ketone) containing phthalazinone structures (PPENK). Therefore, the influence of different PPENK contents on the mechanical, thermal, and low-temperature properties of EP was comprehensively investigated in this paper. The binary blend of PPENK/EP exhibited excellent properties due to homogeneous mixing and good interaction. The presence of PPENK significantly improved the mechanical properties of EP, showing 131.0%, 14.2%, and 10.0% increases in impact, tensile, and flexural strength, respectively. Morphological studies revealed that the crack deflection and bridging in PPENK were the main toughening mechanism in the blend systems. In addition, the PPENK/EP blends showed excellent thermal and low-temperature properties (-183 °C). The glass transition temperatures of the PPENK/EP blends were enhanced by approximately 50 °C. The 15 phr of the PPENK/EP blends had a low-temperature flexural strength of up to 230 MPa, which was 46.5% higher than EP. Furthermore, all blends exhibited better thermal stability.

Interpenetration Networked Polyimide-Epoxy Copolymer under Kinetic and Thermodynamic Control for Anticorrosion Coating

Epoxy (EP) was copolymerized with polyamic acid (PAA, precursor of polyimide (PI)) with termanil monomers of (1) 4,4'-Oxydianiline (ODA) and (2) pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) individually to form (PI-O-EP) and (PI-P-EP) copolymers. The FTIR spectrum of PI-O-EP copolymerization intermediates shows that some amide-EP linkages were formed at low temperature and were broken at higher temperature; in additoin, the released amide was available for subsequent imidization to form PI. The curing and imidization of the amide groups on PAA were determined by reaction temperature (kinetic vs. thermodynamic control). In PI-P-EP, the released amide group was very short-lived (fast imidization) and was not observed on FTIR spectra. Formation and breakage of the amide-EP linkages is the key step for EP homopolymerization and formation of the interpenetration network. PI contributed in improving thermal durability and mechanical strength without compromising EP's adhesion strength. Microphase separations were minimal at PI content less than 10 wt%. The copolymerization reaction in this study followed the "kinetic vs. thermodynamic control" principle. The copolymer has high potential for application in the field of higher-temperature anticorrosion.

Structure and Properties of Epoxy Polysulfone Systems Modified with an Active Diluent

An epoxy resin modified with polysulfone (PSU) and active diluent furfuryl glycidyl ether (FGE) was studied. Triethanolaminotitanate (TEAT) and iso-methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride (iso-MTHPA) were used as curing agents. It is shown that during the curing of initially homogeneous mixtures, heterogeneous structures are formed. The type of these structures depends on the concentration of active diluent and the type of hardener. The physico-mechanical properties of the hybrid matrices are determined by the structure formed. The maximum resistance to a growing crack is provided by structures with a thermoplastic-enriched matrix-interpenetrating structures. The main mechanism for increasing the energy of crack propagation is associated with the implementation of microplasticity of extended phases enriched in polysulfone and their involvement in the fracture process.

Synergy between Phenoxy and CSR Tougheners on the Fracture Toughness of Highly Cross-Linked Epoxy-Based Composites

A remarkable synergistic increase in fracture toughness by 130% is demonstrated for a CFRP high performance epoxy composite when adding an equal weight combination of phenoxy thermoplastic and core-shell rubber (CSR) toughening agents, as compared to a single toughener at a comparable total concentration of around 10 wt%. The dual-toughened matrix exhibits an unusual morphological arrangement of the two toughener agents. The interlaminar shear strength of the composites is also synergistically improved by about 75% as compared to the reference while the compression modulus reduction and viscosity increase are significantly smaller than for the single phenoxy toughened system. A partial filtering of the CSR particles by the dense CF fabric during pre-pregging leads to a less than optimum CSR dispersion in the composites, showing that the synergy can be further optimized, possibly to the same level as the unreinforced systems.

Phase separation of ternary epoxy/PEI blends with higher molecular weight of tertiary component polysiloxane

A tertiary component with higher molecular weight of epoxy terminated polysiloxane (DMS-E11) was incorporated into the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA)/thermoplastic polyetherimide (PEI) blends. In this ternary DGEBA/PEI/DMS-E11 system, 25 or 30 wt% PEI and no more than 20 wt% DMS-E11 were used to ensure the formation of a continuous PEI-rich phase via reaction induced phase separation for optimum mechanical properties of blends. The results of morphology monitoring by OM and TRLS indicated that the addition of DMS-E11 could accelerate phase separation of DGEBA/PEI. Obvious differences were observed by SEM/EDS in the final morphologies of the blends. DMS-E11 localized in the PEI-rich phase continuously while it separated with DGEBA into spherical particles in the DGEBA-rich phase. DMA measurements found that the storage modulus and T_g decreased with DMS-E11 content but were compensated partly by the presence of PEI. The results of tensile tests confirmed the synergistic strengthening for epoxy resin from PEI and DMS-E11.

Effect of higher molecular weight epoxy-terminated polysiloxane DMS-E11 on morphologies and properties of DGEBA/PEI blends.

An overview of viscoelastic phase separation in epoxy based blends

The viscoelastic effects during reaction induced phase separation play an important role in toughening epoxy-based blends. The large difference in molecular weight/glass transition temperature between the blend components before the curing reaction results in dynamic asymmetry, causing viscoelastic effects during phase separation accompanying the curing reaction. This review will focus on the key factors responsible for viscoelastic phase separation in epoxy-based blends and hybrid nanocomposites. Time-resolved characterization techniques such as rheometry, small angle laser light scattering, optical microscopy etc., are mainly used for monitoring the viscoelastic effects during phase separation. Incorporation of nanofillers in epoxy thermoplastic blends enhances the viscoelastic phase separation due to the increase in dynamic asymmetry. Different theoretical models are identified for the determination of processing parameters such as temperature, viscosity, phase domain size, and other parameters during the viscoelastic phase separation process. The effect of viscoelastic phase separation has a very strong influence on the domain parameters of the blends and thereby on the ultimate properties and applications.