The influence of CO2 fixation reaction and nanoclay addition on the curing kinetic parameters of a bifunctioal epoxy resin

The reaction of a bifunctional epoxy resin with carbon dioxide (CO2) in the presence of tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide was investigated by the FTIR analysis. Unmodified epoxy (UME) and CO2 fixation modified epoxy (CFME) resins were modified using a nanoclay additive to prepare, respectively, nanoclay modified (NME) and CO2 fixation/nanoclay modified epoxy (CFNME) resins. The cure kinetic parameters of the resins were calculated by Sbirrazzuoli approach using dynamic DSC data. In this approach the kinetic parameters of Kamal's model and a diffusion model are estimated using the dependency of activation energy on the extent of conversion obtained by an advanced integral isoconversional method. A great change observed in the cure kinetic parameters of CO2 fixation epoxy resin could be attributed to the formation of 1,3-dioxolane-2-one rings which also showed a considerable interaction with the quaternary ammonium cation of organic modifier in the nanoclay.