The Miscibility of Novel Bisphenol-Propylene Epoxy Resin With Liquid NBR

A novel kind of bisphenol-type epoxy resin with a vinyl side-chain was developed and its miscibility behavior with liquid nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) was investigated. The diglycidyl ether of bisphenol propylene (DGEBP) was prepared by the condensation of phenol with acrolein in the presence of an acid catalyst and the subsequent epoxidization with epichlorohydrin (ECH). The structures of the bisphenol and corresponding epoxy resin were characterized by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral analyses and the epoxy value was determined to be 0.34 mol/100 g by titration. The mixture of DGEBP with the liquid NBR containing diglycidyl ether of bisphenol acetone (DGEBA) was prepared and cured with diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM). The miscibility and morphology of the mixture system were studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The cured mixture of DGEBP/NBR/DDM exhibited good miscibility and, therefore, no separation, along with a transparent appearance at rubber contents of 10 wt% and 30 wt%. For cured DGEBP/DGEBA/NBR/DDM systems at 20 wt% rubber content, the dispersed rubber phase and rubber particles were not observed by DMTA or TEM at DGEBP content above 40 wt%. The DMTA plot showed a single peak related to the glass transition temperature (T g) which decreased with increasing DGEBP content. The appearance of the system varied from transparent to opaque and the rubber separated from the epoxy matrix to form two phases when the DGEBP content decreased. The T g values of the rubber- and epoxy-rich phases were strongly dependent on the DGEBP content in the mixed system. The miscibility of epoxy resin with liquid NBR can be altered by varying the ratio of DGEBP to DGEBA.