Improvement of thermal properties and flame retardancy of epoxy-amine thermosets by introducing bisphenol containing azomethine moiety

Abstract

A novel bisphenol 1, 4'-bis{4-[(4-hydroxy) phenyliminomethylidene] phenoxy} benzene (BHPB), which contains azomethine moiety and flexible aromatic ether linkage, was synthesized and introduced into the curing system composed of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and diamine. The curing behavior of DGEBA/diamine changed dramatically due to the introduction of BHPB. The resultant epoxy thermosets containing BHPB had high Tgs (127-160C), high Td,5% ( 330C) and high integral procedure decomposition temperature (IPDT) values (662-1230C) and good flame retardancy because of their high Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) values (above 29.5).