Epoxy resin molecular structure

Enzyme-substrate complex, 1041 Ephedrine, structure of, 65 Epibatidine, molecular model of. 332 Epichlorohydrin, epoxy resins from, 673-674 Epimer, 303... 

The intrinsic moisture sensitivity of the epoxy resins is traceable directly to the molecular structure. The presence of polar and hydrogen bonding groups, such as hydroxyls, amines, sulfones and tertiary nitrogen provides the chemical basis for moisture sensitivity, while the available free volume and nodular network structure represent its physical aspect. 

Crystal lattice packing, 12 249-250 Crystal lattice vibrations, 14 236 Crystalline adsorbents, 1 586, 589. See also Molecular sieves Zeolites for gas separation, 1 631 properties and applications, l 588t Crystalline alkali silicates, atomic structure of, 22 454-455 Crystalline cellulose, 5 373-379 Crystalline epoxy resins, 10 373-374 Crystalline flake graphite, 12 793 manufacture and processing of, 12 781-784... 

The variety of epoxy resins offers a wide range of molecular structures that exhibit different yield behavior at the macroscopic level. The study of plastic deformation in different epoxy resins can help understand the structure/property relationship of plasticity in thermoset resins. 

The plastic deformation in several amine and anhydride cured epoxy resins has been studied. The experimental results have been reasonably interpreted by the Argon theory. The molecular parameters determined from the data based on the theory reflect the different molecular structures of the resins studied. However, these parameters are in similar enough range to also show the structural similarity in these DGEBA based systems. In general, the mechanisms of plastic deformation in epoxy resins below T are essentially identical to those in amorphouE thermoplastics. The yield stress level being related to the modulus that controls the intermolecular energy due to molecular deformation will, however, be affected by the crosslinks in the thermosets. 

In addition to the Bisphenol-A backbone epoxy resins, epoxies with substituted aromatic backbones and in the tri- and tetra- functional forms have been produced. Structure-property relationships exist so that an epoxy backbone chemistry can be selected for the desired end product property. Properties such as oxygen permeability, moisture vapor transmission and glass transition temperature have been related to the backbone structure of epoxy resins5). Whatever the backbone structure, resins containing only the pure monomeric form can be produced but usually a mixture of different molecular weight species are present with their distribution being dictated by the end-use of the resin. 

This article will review the impact of two powerful new techniques for characterizing epoxy resins at the molecular level — Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of solids. Fortunately, these two techniques are not inhibited appreciably by the insoluble nature of the cured resin. Consequently, substantial structural information at the molecular level can be obtained. In this article, the basis of the methods will be briefly described in order to appreciate the nature of the methods followed by a description of the work on epoxies to date and finally some indication will be given of the anticipated contributions of these methods in the future. 

Vinyl ester resins arc manufactured through an addition reaction of an epoxy resin with an acrylic monomer, such as acrylic acid, methaciylic add. or the half-ester product of an hydroxyalkyl acrylate and anhydride. In contrast, the polyester resins are condensation products of dibasic acids and palyhydric alcohols. The relatively low-molecular-weight precise polymer structure of the vinyl ester resins is in contrast to the high-molecular-weight random structure of the polyesters. 

The molecular structure of epoxy/metal interphases in the presence of an amino coupling agent was studied by Boerio and co-workers [28] by IR and by XPS. The formation of amide and imide groups in the interphase provided evidence of chemical reaction between the silane primer and the curing agent for epoxy resin. 

These findings suggest strongly that the composition of the elastomeric molecule and the nature of the functional groups affect its compatibility and rate of reaction with the epoxy resin, which in turn affect the molecular and morphological structure of the heterophase system. These data indicate the importance of the acrylonitrile comonomer and the carboxyl groups in controlling the polarity of the rubber, and subsequently its compatibility characteristics with the epoxy. We could also... 

In a way similar to that described for polyethylene fere-phthalate (Sect. 4.2), some antiplasticiser small molecules with a specific chemical structure are able to affect the ft transition and the yield stress of epoxy resins, but they do not have any effect on the y transition. In the case of HMDA networks, an efficient antiplasticiser, EPPHAA, whose chemical structure is shown in Table 8, has been reported [69]. The investigation of such antiplasticised epoxy networks by dynamic mechanical analysis as well as solid-state NMR experiments [70] can lead to a deeper understanding of the molecular processes involved in the ft transition and of their cooperativity. 

In all these stages the adhesive properties will be determined primarily by the molecular structures of the epoxy resin and curing agent or catalyst employed. Additives and modifiers, of course, will also affect these properties, and they are discussed in later chapters. 

FIGURE 3.13 Idealized molecular structure of a diglycidyl ether of biphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin. 

Alter and Sooler, Molecular Structure of Epoxy Resin Polymers as a Basis for Adhesion, ACS Symposium, New York, September 1957. 

Solid epoxy adhesive formulations can be processed to either a thermoplastic or a thermoset state. Solid epoxy resins of exceptionally high molecular weight (e.g., phenoxy) can be used without any degree of cure as a hot-melt type of adhesive. However, fully crosslinked, thermoset systems are generally employed in structural applications. 

The phenoxy resin has a chemical structure similar to that of epoxy resin however, the phenoxy is a high-molecular-weight thermoplastic polymer, which needs no further conversion and has an infinite shelf life. Since the phenoxies are strongly polar polyethers, they... 

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