EFFECT OF THE ANHYDRIDE STRUCTURE ON THE CURING KINETICS AND THERMAL-STABILITY OF TETRAFUNCTIONAL EPOXY-RESIN

The kinetics of curing of epoxy resin, N,N,N',N'-tetraglycidyl-1,1-bis[(4-amino-3-methyl) phenyl]cyclohexane (TGBATC) with six different anhydrides in stoichiometric amounts were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry. The overall kinetics of curing follows a simple Arrhenius-type temperature dependence with an activation energy range of 53.2-124.6 kJ mol-1. The kinetics of thermal degradation of the cured epoxy resins were studied by thermogravimetry in a static air atmosphere at a heating rate of 10-degrees-C min-1. The thermal degradation reactions were found to proceed in a single step with an activation energy in the range 28.0-65.0 kJ mol-1.