Preparation of a light color cardanol-based curing agent and epoxy resin composite: Cure-induced phase separation and its effect on properties

Abstract A light color cardanol-based epoxy curing agent (MBCBE) was synthesized from cardanol butyl ether, formaldehyde and diethylenetriamine. In comparison, a phenalkamine with a similar structure was also prepared. The chemical structures were confirmed by GC–MS and FTIR. The cure behaviors of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with these two curing agents was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The morphology, mechanical properties, thermal properties of the cured epoxies were also investigated. The DSC results indicated that MBCBE is less reactive than the phenalkamine. The morphology of the cured MBCBE/DGEBA consisted of cavities dispersed within a continuous epoxy matrix. The cavities markedly improved the lap shear strength and impact strength of the cured resin. Both the two cured resins indicated a two-stage decomposition mechanism. Compared with PKA/DGEBA, the weight loss of MBCBE/DGEBA at the first stage was mainly resulted from the dispersed phase in the epoxy matrix.