Preparation, characterization, and properties of organic silicone intermediate-modified epoxy resin copolymers

Abstract

In this work, a series of silicone-containing epoxy copolymers (E231) were synthesized through a condensation reaction between the Si-OCH3 of SY231 and the –OH of E51. The chemical structural determinations of the copolymer were carried out with the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and an epoxy equivalent weight test. Besides, the grafting content of SY231 in E231 copolymers was determined by the proton (1H) NMR integration technique. The mechanical properties, thermal stabilities, and morphology of impact fractured surface of cured products were also investigated. The experimental results show that increased impact strength was observed for the cured E231 products, meanwhile the improvement of the impact strength was closely related to the content of silicone in copolymers. A smooth surface was observed on the neat epoxy specimen, while a rough surface was observed by scanning electron microscopic examination on the impact fractured surface of the cured E231 products. The data of TGA indicated that silicone exerted its thermal stability through thermal decomposition energy dissipation, acted as thermal insulation, and finally enhanced the solid residue at 800°C. Dynamic thermomechanical analysis tests displayed that the glass transition temperature of epoxy systems decreased slightly with the introduction of the flexible organosilicone.