Epoxidized soybean oil grafted with CTBN as a novel toughener for improving the fracture toughness and mechanical properties of epoxy resin

Abstract

We prepared epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) grafted with carboxyl-terminated poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) (CTBN) (ESO-g-CTBN) by a ring-opening reaction between the epoxide group and the carboxyl group. The structural features of the resulting product were determined using modern analytical techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The ESO-g-CTBN was applied as a toughener for an epoxy resin-based composite that was fabricated by blending the epoxy resin with diethylenetriamine (DETA) as the curing agent. The main aim of this procedure is to simultaneously improve the mechanical properties and fracture toughness of a bisphenol A-based epoxy resin. When 15 phr of ESO-g-CTBN was added to the EP/DETA mixture, the resin fracture toughness (KIC) and tensile strength increased from 0.65 to 1.09 MPa m1/2 and from 34.42 to 42.55 MPa, respectively. The ESO-g-CTBN existed in the EP matrix as a separate phase and induced an increase in the KIC via stopping crack growth or changing the crack direction. The epoxydized soybean oil grafted with CTBN (ESO-g-CTBN) was synthesized from ring opening reaction between epoxide group and carboxyl group. The ESO-g-CTBN help to improve the fracture toughness of epoxy resin by the mechanism as shown in the figure.