Effect of stirring on morphology and properties in a catalyst cured epoxy system

摘要

AbstractThis article describes the effect of stirring on epoxy network morphology and physical properties. Several different mechanical stirrer speeds, from 45 rpm to 800 rpm, were employed for the mixing of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A resin with 2‐ethyl‐4‐methyl imidazole catalytic curing agent. The investigation indicated that the glass transition temperature, room temperature density, low temperature relaxation, tensile mechanical properties in the rubbery state, and nodular morphology are significantly affected by the stirrer speed used. Transmission electron microscopy has revealed that the extent of homogeneity for the dispersion of nodule domain in the low crosslinking matrix improved with increasing stirrer speed. However, an optimum stirrer speed condition is needed for achieving the most homogeneous system. In addition, it is shown that the room temperature tensile mechanical properties are independent of the mixing condition. This independence is ascribed to the fact that the glassy state mechanical properties are closely related to the intermolecular forces rather than to the network stru