Cure behaviors of furfuryl alcohol/epoxy/methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride and their enhanced mechanical and anti-acid properties of basalt fiber reinforced composites

Catalyzing furfuryl alcohol and epoxy simultaneously with a suitable catalyst plays a key role in the preparation of high-performance blends. Herein, methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride was utilized to cure furfuryl alcohol/epoxy resins, which reacted with epoxy firstly, then catalyzed the furan reaction and also linked furfuryl alcohol and epoxy. Moreover, partly ring-opened furan further catalyzed the curing reaction of epoxy. The addition content of methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride affected the curing behaviors of furfuryl alcohol/epoxy blends, and their Tg and char yield at 700 °C reached the maxima of 140 °C and 16.79% respectively as the content increased to 50%. The mechanical and anti-acid properties of basalt fiber-reinforced composites were further studied. The mechanical properties of composites changed identically to those of the matrix did. Furfuryl alcohol improved the acid resistance of composites, probably because furan could be cured in acidic condition and basalt fiber was resistant to acid. All these changes were related to the curing mechanism and crosslinking density of furan/epoxy/methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride blends.