Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5186292 | Polymer | 2007 | 13 Pages |
Abstract
A novel phosphorus-modified polysulfone (P-PSu) was employed as a combined toughness modifier and a source of flame retardancy for a DGEBA/DDS thermosetting system. In comparison to the results of a commercially available polysulfone (PSu), commonly used as a toughness modifier, the chemorheological changes during curing measured by means of temperature-modulated DSC revealed an earlier occurrence of mobility restrictions in the P-PSu-modified epoxy. A higher viscosity and secondary epoxy-modifier reactions induced a sooner vitrification of the reacting mixture; effects that effectively prevented any phase separation and morphology development in the resulting material during cure. Thus, only about a 20% increase in fracture toughness was observed in the epoxy modified with 20 wt.% of P-PSu, cured under standard conditions at 180 °C for 2 h. Blends of the phosphorus-modified and the standard polysulfone (PSu) were also prepared in various mixing ratios and were used to modify the same thermosetting system. Again, no evidence for phase separation of the P-PSu was found in the epoxy modified with the P-PSu/PSu blends cured under the selected experimental conditions. The particular microstructures formed upon curing these novel materials are attributed to a separation of PSu from a miscible P-PSu-epoxy mixture. Nevertheless, the blends of P-PSu/PSu were found to be effective toughness/flame retardancy enhancers owing to the simultaneous microstructure development and polymer interpenetration.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Authors
R.M. Perez, J.K.W. Sandler, V. Altstädt, T. Hoffmann, D. Pospiech, M. Ciesielski, M. Döring, U. Braun, A.I. Balabanovich, B. Schartel,