Microencapsulation of imidazole curing agent by solvent evaporation method using W/O/W emulsion

Abstract

Abstract The epoxy–imidazole resin system is used to form the anisotropic conducting film. The latent character of the system is very significant. In this study, imidazole (Im) or 2‐methylimidazole (2MI) was encapsulated for the latent curing system to use in the reaction of epoxy resin. Polycaprolactone was used as a wall material, and the solvent evaporation method was used to form the microcapsule using W/O/W emulsion. The shelf life of the microcapsules was studied for the epoxy resin, and the curing behavior of the microcapsules for epoxy resin was examined using a differential scanning calorimeter. The curing times at 150 and 180°C were estimated using an indentation method. The microcapsules of Im or 2MI exhibited a long shelf life for epoxy resin. When comparing the results of the previous methods with the results of this study using the W/O/W emulsion, finer microcapsules were formed and the microcapsule has longer shelf life. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013