A novel method for preparation of epoxy resins using thiol–ene click reaction

Abstract

ABSTRACTEpoxy resins (EPs) have a wide range of applications due to their remarkable performances. A major issue about them is the associated serious environmental pollution and high manufacturing cost because of the tedious synthetic procedure and the large amount of organic solvents used in production. Here, we report a facile, highly efficient approach to addressing these challenges using thiol–ene click reaction. The new synthesis process is based on mass‐produced materials including triols, diols, mercaptopropionic acid and glycidyl methacrylate and involves only two steps, that is, esterification and thiol–ene click reaction. Three types of high purity sulfur‐containing EPs are synthesized at high yields. The chemical structures and molecular weights of the newly synthesized EPs were characterized by Fourier translation infrared spectroscopy, 1H‐NMR and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Using the methyl nadic anhydride as crosslinker, these resins have shown excellent heat‐resistance due to the absence of hydroxyl groups. They demonstrate high thermal decomposition temperatures, showing no dehydration decomposition at 260°C and therefore are suitable for applications as solvent‐free resins. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42316.