Morphology and high-performance of in-situ self-assemble epoxy resin with side aliphatic dangling chains

A series of epoxy resins containing side aliphatic pendant chains (abbreviated as EPC-04, EPC-08, EPC-12 and EPC-18) were prepared by the reaction between the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F (DGEBF) and the single-ended fatty amine with a chain length ranging from C4 to C18. Studies on the film morphology and the physical performance demonstrate that the cured EPC-04, EPC-08, EPC-12 and EPC-18 composites possess excellent mechanical and thermal properties, which are originated from the micro-, submicro- and nano-structured phases distributed in the epoxy matrix. In addition, by adjusting the lengths of the dangling aliphatic chains, the mechanical properties of the cured resins can be tuned in different scales. Consequently, by prolonging the pendant chain length to C18, the cured resin exhibits a striking tensile strength of 90.65 MPa, an elongation of 6.1% and a modulus of 2.55 GPa.