Synthesis and Self-Healing Mechanism of Self-Healing Epoxy Microcapsule Materials

Abstract

Self-healing epoxy resin microcapsules are prepared by interfacial polymerization, in which the core materials are epoxy resin, the wall materials are constructed with triethylenetetramine and the epoxy resin. The orthogonal experimental L9(34) are designed to investigate the influence of emulsifier dosage, hardener dosage, curing temperature and hardener adding rate on the core content and storage life of epoxy resin microcapsule. Scanning electron microscope is used to characterize surface topography and distribution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is used to study reaction mechanism of the microcapsule wall materials, respectively. The results indicate that when the dosage of emulsifier is 1.2%, the dosage of hardener is 1.2%, the hardener droplets adding rate is 1.2 g/h and the curing temperature is 50°C, the prepared microcapsules with a high level of core content are spherical in shape with good surface compactness and dispersibility. Future research may focus on improving microcapsule storage stability and the obstacles encountered in practical applications.