Epoxy reactions

Mechanism for triphenylphosphine-catalyzed phenol-epoxy reaction. 

Melt reaction mechanisms of tertiary aliphatic amine catalyzed phenolic-epoxy reactions were proposed to begin with a trialkylamine abstracting a phenolic hydroxyl proton to form an ion pair (Fig. 7.36). The ion pair was suggested to complex with an epoxy ring, which then dissociated to form a /1-hydroxycther and a regenerated trialkylamine.87... 

Figure 7.36 Proposed mechanism for tertiary amine-catalyzed phenol-epoxy reaction.

A review of epoxy-novolac reaction mechanisms and kinetics is provided by Biernath et al.85 Depending on the structures of the novolac and the epoxy, reactions have been reported to proceed through an nth-order mechanism or an autocatalytic mechanism.88-92... 

Acid anhydride-diol reaction, 65 Acid anhydride-epoxy reaction, 85 Acid binders, 155, 157 Acid catalysis, of PET, 548-549 Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of nylon-6, 567-568 of nylon-6,6, 568 Acid chloride, poly(p-benzamide) synthesis from, 188-189 Acid chloride-alcohol reaction, 75-77 Acid chloride-alkali metal diphenol salt interfacial reactions, 77 Acid chloride polymerization, of polyamides, 155-157 Acid chloride-terminated polyesters, reaction with hydroxy-terminated polyethers, 89 Acid-etch tests, 245 Acid number, 94 Acidolysis, 74 of nylon-6,6, 568... 

Phenol-epoxy reaction. See also Epoxy-phenolic reaction entries tertiary amine-catalyzed, 412 triphenylphosphine-catalyzed, 412 Phenol-formaldehyde novolac resin, preparation of, 429... 

The example in Preparation 2-9 illustrates the general applications of the azide epoxy reaction to large molecules. 

Figure 8.12 TEM photographs of triblock copolymers dispersed in a DGEBA-diamine epoxy network. The triblock copolymer is polystyrene-b-polybuta-diene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate), and the epoxy hardener is (a) -methylene bis [3-chloro-2,6 diethylaniline], MCDEA, and (b) 4,4 -diamino diphenyl sulfone, DDS. In the case of the epoxy system based on MCDEA, the PMMA block is miscible up to the end of the epoxy reaction. In the case of the epoxy system based on DDS, the PMMA block phase-separates during reaction. (From LMM Library.)... 

Cure of epoxy with combinations of monomeric curing agents and the use of polymers containing reactive groups to cure epoxy systems is rarely touched upon in the literature and could be investigated much further. Amides, polyesters, polyethers etc. used to cure the epoxy network could lead to the creation of materials having interesting and heretofore unfathomed properties. The fundamental kinetics of the reactive polymer epoxy reaction is an area of interest as well. 

Tertiary amine No hydrogens are bound to each nitrogen atom (will not react readily with an epoxy group, but will act as a catalyst to accelerate epoxy reactions). 

In adhesive formulations, aliphatic amines are most commonly used to cure the DGEBA type of epoxy resin. Aliphatic amines are not widely used with the non-glycidyl ether resins, since the amine-epoxy reaction is slow at low temperatures. The reaction usually requires heat and accelerators for an acceptable rate of cure. Aliphatic amines are primarily used with lower-viscosity DGEBA resins because of the difficulty in mixing such low-viscosity curing agents with the more viscous epoxy resins. 

The early reaction mechanism of DICY with epoxy resin consists of the epoxy reaction with all four hydrogen atoms on DICY and the epoxy-to-epoxy reaction that is catalyzed by the tertiary amines. The final curing mechanism is between hydroxyl groups in the partly cured resins and DICY cyano groups. This results in the disappearance of the cyano groups to form amino groups. This step is also catalyzed by tertiary amines. 

The effect of solvent type on the curing rate of epoxy reactions has been well defined. Hydroxyl compounds, such as alcohols, act as catalysts and accelerate curing. However, these solvents are not serious competitors with amines for reacting with the epoxy ring. Water, functioning as a hydroxyl compound, also accelerates the reaction, even more than alcohols. Aprotic solvents, such as aromatic hydrocarbons or mineral spirits, have no effect on the amine-epoxy resin and behave as inert diluents. Carbonyl solvents, such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone, retard the reaction. 

Suitable curatives for the polysulfide-epoxy reaction include liquid aliphatic amines, liquid aliphatic amine adducts, solid amine adducts, liquid cycloaliphatic amines, liquid amide-amines, liquid aromatic amines, polyamides, and tertiary amines. Primary and secondary amines are preferred for thermal stability and low-temperature performance. Not all amines are completely compatible with polysulfide resins. The incompatible amines may require a three-part adhesive system. The liquid polysulfides are generally added to the liquid epoxy resin component because of possible compatibility problems. Optimum elevated-temperature performance is obtained with either an elevated-temperature cure or a postcure. 

The isocyanate reaction is several orders of magnitude faster than the epoxy reaction. Hence, attempts to cure mixtures of epoxy and isocyanate resins must provide for essentially complete consumption of all -NCO groups before any of the epoxy rings can react. 

Epoxy acrylates are dominant oligomers in the radiation curable adhesives market. A bisphenol A epoxy resin is reacted with acrylic acid or methacrylate acid to provide unsaturated terminal reactive groups. The acrylic acid-epoxy reaction to make bisphenol A diacrylate destroys any free ingredients such as epichlorohydrin used to make the DGEBA epoxy starting raw material. 

Gel Point and Phase Separation. Depending on epoxy prereaction time, a 20 wt % addition of rubber would be expected to increase the gel time of the epoxy from 14 hr to a maximum of ca. 19 hr just by a dilution effect. In many cases the gel time of the reaction is longer than expected by simple dilution, probably because the n-butyl acrylate hinders the epoxy reaction. If phase separation occurs before gelation, hindrance... 

Isocyanate-epoxy reactions have been investigated bulk and in solution in the presence of DBU and other bases (85MI1). 

Figure 11. Correlation of fluorescence Intensity at 418 nm with the extent of epoxy reaction (5i,)by IR method at 140°C cure. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. 3. Copyright 1987 Butter-worth Co. [Publishers] Ltd.)...

Instrumental analytical methods including HPLC, NMR and FT-IR have enabled the course of the reaction to be delineated by analysing the sol and gel fractions over time. In Section 1.2.1 the individual amine-epoxy reactions were presented, since the first stage of the reaction with a primary amine involves chain extension. This reaction competes with crosslinking since the reaction of the primary amine with epoxide is much faster than the reaction of the secondary amine. It is the latter reaction that results in branching of the chain and thus the formation of the first crosslinks. 

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