The Effect of Polymeric Inclusions and Nanofillers on Cure Kinetics of Epoxy Resin: A Review
Poornima Vijayan P, Jesiya Susan George, Sabu Thomas
Abstract
There is growing interest in epoxy-based composites and blends for advanced technologies. Setting up of cure parameters is of great significance in developing these hybrid thermosetting materials with well-tuned properties. The inclusion of a second phase into the epoxy-curing agent mixture significantly alters the kinetics of cure reaction and hence the final product performance. Apart from acting as reinforcing components, the secondary phase sometimes offers faster curing without any deterioration in crosslink density of epoxy matrix, which would be considered as energy-efficient infusion processing. At the same time, the factors such as the dilution effect, enhanced viscosity, and phase separation may hinder the cure reaction and are prominent, especially at the later stage of cure. Considering the extensive research in this field, the current review concisely presents the effect of inclusion of different polymers and solid nanofillers on cure kinetics of epoxy. The kinetic modelling and the determination of kinetic parameters of cure reaction in multicomponent epoxy systems will also be discussed in this review.