Studies on Cure Kinetics of Poly(phenylene ether)/Epoxy Resin System Using an Advanced Iso-Conversional Method

Abstract

The kinetics and mechanism of poly(phenylene ether)/epoxy resin (PPE/EP) cure system were investigated using an advanced iso-convensional method (AICM). The curing experiments of a PPE/EP cure system with different PPE/EP ratios were carried out by means of non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) with different heating rates of 5, 10, 15 and 20 C/min. From the DSC curves, it was shown that the curing mechanism of PPE/ EP is very complicated, and PPE content affects most cure kinetic parameters. A variation of the effective activation energy with the extent of conversion was obtained by AICM and analyzed.

Parameter estimation of epoxy resin cure kinetics by dynamicsDSCdata

“…Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) stands for a thermo‐analytical method that measures the difference in heat fluxes needed to raise the temperature of a sample compared to a reference and is recorded as a function of temperature or time. It can be used to perform curing experiments under both isothermal and non‐isothermal conditions 11–13 . This method provides both qualitative and quantitative data on physical and chemical changes, encompassing endothermic, or exothermic reactions as well as variations in the heat capacity 8 .…”

“…It can be used to perform curing experiments under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. [11][12][13] This method provides both qualitative and quantitative data on physical and chemical changes, encompassing endothermic, or exothermic reactions as well as variations in the heat capacity. 8 DSC is commonly employed to evaluate the degree of cure and the curing rate of thermosetting resins, offering insights into the thermal evolution during the curing process.…”