Cure kinetics of multifunctional epoxies with 2,2?-dichloro-4,4?-diaminodiphenylmethane as hardener

Abstract

The curing behavior of the epoxy resin N,N,N′,N′-tetraglycidyldiaminodiphenyl methane (TGDDM) with triglycidyl p-aminophenol as a reactive diluent was investigated using 2,2′-dichloro-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (DCDDM) as the curing agent. The effect of the curing agent on the kinetics of curing, shelf-life, and thermal stability in comparison with a TGDDM-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) system was studied. The results showed a lesser activation energy at the lower level of conversion with a broader cure exotherm for the epoxy-DCDDM system in comparison with the epoxy-DDS system, although the overall activation energy for the two systems was comparable. TGA studies showed more stability in the epoxy-DCDDM system than in the epoxy-DDS system. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 2097–2103, 2000