Novel silicone aliphatic amine curing agent for epoxy resin: 1,3-Bis(2-aminoethylaminomethyl) tetramethyldisiloxane. 1. Non-isothermal cure and thermal decomposition property

An interesting silicone-contained aliphatic polyamine, 1,3-bis(2-aminoethylaminomethyl) tetramethyldisiloxane (SFA), was originally employed as the curing agent for bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA). The non-isothermal curing reaction of DGEBA/SFA was systematically investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that reaction exothermic peak temperature was systematically increased with increasing the heating rate, but the reaction exotherm changed slightly within 460–488 J/g. The isoconversional Vyazovkin method was used to analyze the curing kinetic schemes, yielding the effective activation energy Eα. The Eα rapidly decreased at the initial cure stage, after which it kept stable until curing completion. In addition, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the cured DGEBA/SFA network was thermally stable up to 340 °C.

► A novel silicone-contained aliphatic polyamine (SFA) was first time employed as the curing agent for bisphenol A epoxy resin.
► The non-isothermal curing kinetics of DGEBA/SFA was systematically investigated by differential scanning calorimetry.
► The isoconversional method was used to analyze the curing kinetic schemes, yielding the effective activation energy Eα.
► The obtained Eα–α correlation demonstrated Eα rapidly decreased at the initial cure stage, after which it changed little with α up to the completion.
► Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the cured DGEBA/SFA network was thermally stable up to 340 °C.