Abstract
A silver–olefin based coordination polymer was prepared in a simple, one step process to act as an initiator to facilitate the ring-opening polymerization of epoxides. Thermal analysis found the complex to be capable of curing a range of commercially available epoxy resins used in the manufacture of conventional composite materials. Curing of the oligomeric diglycidyl ether bisphenol A resin, Epon 828, in combination with a non-toxic solvent, ethyl phenylacetate, was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical characterization of the resultant cured polymers was conducted by single lap shear tests. Tapered double cantilever beam (TDCB) test specimens containing 2.5 pph of silver–olefin initiator, both with and without embedded microcapsules, were analyzed for their healing performance. Healing efficiency values were found to be strongly dependent on the applied healing temperature. A mean recovery of 74% fracture load was found in TDCB samples after being healed at 70 °C for 48 h.
Highlights
The development of self-healing capabilities for bulk polymer and fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials has attracted a great deal of research interest in recent years
Curing of all resins by AgOlefin was confirmed by Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis
Samples were analyzed by modulated DSC (MDSC)
Summary
The development of self-healing capabilities for bulk polymer and fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials has attracted a great deal of research interest in recent years. Drawing inspiration from nature, synthetic self-healing materials aim to reduce the burden of inspection, repair and replacement of damaged high performance components. Microcapsules, vascular networks and intrinsic healing chemistries have emerged as the three primary approaches to realize selfhealing materials. A recent review by Blaiszik et al provides an excellent summary of research into each technique [1].
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