Abstract
Development of single-component and fast-curing epoxy resins is highly desired for many industry applications. In this work, we report an epoxy system based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and 1-(2-cyanoethyl)-2-ethyl-4- methylimidazole (1C2E4MIM). The inductive effect of electron-withdrawing cyano group distinctly increases the latency of 1C2E4MIM without sacrificing the curing rate. The results of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measurements indicate DGEBA/1C2E4MIM epoxy system can be fully cured in 15 min. The rheological, thermal and mechanical properties of DGEBA/1C2E4MIM epoxy system were studied in detail. The results show that the shelf life of this epoxy system is more than 4 days at room temperature and more than 6 months at -18 °C. The cured epoxy resins show high glass transition temperature (>155 °C), tensile strength (>80 MPa) as well as excellent moist heat resistance. Finally, carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) were fabricated using this epoxy system as matrix via vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) process. The mechanical properties of CFRPs, including tensile, flexural, compressive and interlaminar shear properties, were investigated.
Highlights
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) are increasingly used in many applications that require high-performance light-weight structural materials
For modern high-performance CFRPs, epoxy resins are the most widely utilized thermosetting matrix materials owing to their superior mechanical performance, dimensional stability, adhesion, heat and chemical resistance.[2,3,4]
Epoxy curing often accounts for a large proportion of the manufacturing cycle of CFRPs, and so fast-curing epoxy system is desired to improve the production efficiency, which is significant in automobile industry.[5,6]
Summary
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) are increasingly used in many applications that require high-performance light-weight structural materials. CFRPs are regarded as an ideal light-weight substitute to mental in manufacturing electric car body. For modern high-performance CFRPs, epoxy resins are the most widely utilized thermosetting matrix materials owing to their superior mechanical performance, dimensional stability, adhesion, heat and chemical resistance.[2,3,4] The traditional epoxy formulation for CFRPs commonly includes epoxy monomer and hardener (amines or andydrides). Epoxy curing often accounts for a large proportion of the manufacturing cycle of CFRPs, and so fast-curing epoxy system is desired to improve the production efficiency, which is significant in automobile industry.[5,6]
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