Kinetics and Mechanism of the Late Stage of Cure Reaction-induced Microphase Separation

Abstract

Reaction-induced phase separation in oligomer modified epoxy resin cured by tertiary amine as a catalyst was studied. Evolution of the reaction system morphology was observed in situ by optical microscopy technique. Intensity of the coalescence that proceeds at the late stage of phase separation depends on conditions of the cure, i., formulation and temperature. The final morphology of the reaction system was shown to depend on a chemical mechanism of the cure process, first of all, polycondensation or polymerization reaction paths.

Key Words:

• Phase separation
• Polymer morphology
• Cure reactions
• Epoxy polymers