Solid-state healing of epoxy networks is shown to be an effective and robust mechanism for highly cross-linked epoxy networks. Using diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin and diethyltoluenediamine, the cured epoxy network is transformed into a mendable system using phenoxy resin and low-molecular-weight polybisphenol A-co-epichlorohydrin) thermoplastic modifiers. Using functionally terminated low-molecular-weight poly(bisphenol A-co-epichlorohydrina) thermoplastic modifiers as healing agents reveals that salicylic acid or neutralized sodium salicylate groups produce healing similar to high-molecular-weight non-functional phenoxy resin as measured using single-end notched beam testing. The miscibility of both thermoplastics in the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A/diethyltoluenediamine system was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and identified as being important to promoting healing. Near-infrared spectroscopy showed that the network structure was unaffected by the thermoplastic modification, suggesting that healing occurred primarily through physical or non-covalent mechanisms rather than covalent bonding. The potential for self-assembly of the salicylic acid and neutralized sodium salicylate groups to form a high-molecular-weight thermoplastic in situ was also discussed as being a possible reason for the improved level of healing with the low-molecular-weight thermoplastic.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.