Epoxidized soybean oil modified using fatty acids as tougheners for thermosetting epoxy resins: Part 2—Effect of curing agent and epoxy molecular weight

Fengshuo Hu, John J. La Scala, Santosh Kumar Yadav, James Throckmorton, Giuseppe R. Palmese

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

A series of bio-rubber (BR) tougheners for thermosetting epoxy resins was prepared by grafting renewable fatty acids with different chain lengths onto epoxidized soybean oil at varying molar ratios. BR-toughened samples were prepared by blending BRs with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A resins, Epon 828 and Epon 1001F, at different weight fractions and stoichiometrically cured using an amine curing agent, 4, 4′-methylene biscyclohexanamine (PACM). Fracture toughness properties of the unmodified and BR toughened polymer samples—including critical strain energy release rate (GIc), and critical stress intensity factor (KIc)—were measured to investigate the toughening effect of prepared BRs. It was found that the degree of phase separation and toughening were more controllable relative to similar polymers cured using the aromatic curing agent Epikure W, and the use of higher molecular epoxy resins produces a synergistic effect increasing the toughness much more than similar polymers made with lower molecular weight epoxy resins. Average BR domain sizes ranging from 200 to 900 nm were observed, and formulations with GIc, values KIc as high as 1.0 kJ/m2 and 1.4 MPa m1/2 were attained respectively for epoxy systems with Tg greater than 130°C.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number50579
JournalJournal of Applied Polymer Science
Volume138
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 20 2021
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Materials Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Epoxidized soybean oil modified using fatty acids as tougheners for thermosetting epoxy resins: Part 2—Effect of curing agent and epoxy molecular weight'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this