Isocyanate-terminated polyethers toughened epoxy resin: Chemical modification, thermal properties, and mechanical strength

The toughening of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin with isocyanateterminated polyethers (ITPE) was investigated. The progress of the reaction and the structural changes during modification process were studied using FTIR spectroscopy. The studies support the proposition that TDI (tolylene diisocyanate) acts as a coupling agent between the epoxy and polyethers, forming a urethane linkage with the former and the latter, respectively. Me THPA-cured ER/ITPs blends were characterized using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It is indicated the glass transition temperature (T g) of systems was lower than the T g of pure epoxy resin and overfull ITPE separated from the modified epoxy resin and formed another phase at an ITPE-content of more than 10wt%. The thermal stability was decreased by the introduction of ITPE. The impact strength and the flexural strength of the cured modifiedepoxy increased with increasing the ITPE content and a maximum plateau value of about 24.03 kJ/m2 and 130.56 MPa was measured in 10wt% ITPE. From scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies of the fractrue surfaces of ER/ITPE systems, the nature of the micromechanisms responsible for the increases in toughness of the systems was identified.