A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique was developed to investigate the effects of reaction temperature and reactant composition on the isothermal curing kinetics of commercial vinyl nester resins comprised of vinyl-ester monomer (dimethacrylate of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A DGEBA) and styrene. This technique enables a more complete evaluation of the bulk copolymerization reaction of vinyl-esterOstyrene systems by monitoring the depletion of vinyl-ester and styrene double bonds independently. The results indicate that the rate of fractional conversion of styrene double bonds is initially less than that of vinyl-ester vinyl groups. However, styrene monomer continues to react after conversion of vinyl-ester double bonds has ceased. In addition, the overall extent of conversion was found to increase with increasing isothermal cure temperature, and it was observed that higher styrene concentration enhances final conversion of vinyl-ester double bonds and not styrene double bonds. Increasing styrene monomer concentration also resulted in lowering the apparent activation energy for the reaction of vinyl groups from both monomers as characterized by an empirical autocatalytic model used to fit the conversion results for styrene and vinyl-ester double bonds independently. The results of this work demonstrate that reaction temperature and resin composition significantly affect the cure behavior of vinyl-ester resins and provide insight into the development of the resulting network structure.
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.