Novel Reactive Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane-Reinforced and Toughened Epoxy Resins for Advanced Composites

Weibo Liu; Caiyun Wang; Yu Feng; Yongfeng Chen; Liqiang Wan; Farong Huang; Zuozhen Liu; Jianhua Qian; Weiping Liu

doi:10.3390/polym16131877

Polymers (Jul 2024)

Novel Reactive Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane-Reinforced and Toughened Epoxy Resins for Advanced Composites

Weibo Liu,
Caiyun Wang,
Yu Feng,
Yongfeng Chen,
Liqiang Wan,
Farong Huang,
Zuozhen Liu,
Jianhua Qian,
Weiping Liu

Affiliations

Weibo Liu: Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Caiyun Wang: Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Yu Feng: Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Yongfeng Chen: Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Liqiang Wan: Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Farong Huang: Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Zuozhen Liu: HuaChang Polymers Co., Ltd., East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200241, China
Jianhua Qian: HuaChang Polymers Co., Ltd., East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200241, China
Weiping Liu: Manufacturing Center of Composite Materials for Commercial Aircraft, Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd., COMAC, Shanghai 201324, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131877
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 16, no. 13
p. 1877

Abstract

Read online

Most toughening methods for epoxy resins are usually used at the expense of other properties. Some polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) with both a rigid Si-O-Si structure and flexible organic chain segments could be expected to be effective toughening agents. In this study, three reactive polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes with a thiol group (OMPPS), a carboxyl group (OCOPS), and an epoxy group (OGCPS) were synthesized and characterized. They were utilized as modifiers to toughen 3-(oxiran-2-ylmethoxy)-N,N-bis(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)aniline (AFG-90MH)/4,4′-methylenebis(2-ethylaniline) (MOEA) (epoxy resin) with different molar ratios to obtain hybrid resins named OMPPS-EP-i, OCOPS-EP-j, and OGCPS-EP-k. The effects of the amount of modifier added and the length of the organic chain on the cage structure on various properties of the hybrid resins were investigated. The results show that all three modifiers show good compatibility with the epoxy resin. The hybrid resins have a low viscosity at 45~85 °C and can be cured at a low temperature (110 °C). The cured hybrid resins display improved toughness. Typically, the critical stress intensity factor (KIC) and impact strength of OGCPS-EP-0.6-C are 2.54 MPa∙m−1/2 and 19.33 kJ∙m−2, respectively, which increased by 58.75% and 22.48% compared with the pristine epoxy resin, respectively. In addition, the glass transition temperature and flexural strength of the hybrid resins are basically unchanged.

Published in Polymers

ISSN: 2073-4360 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers/

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords