Effects of variation in composition and temperature on the amine cure of an epoxy resin model system

Abstract Prior liquid chromatographic studies have shown that the reactions in epoxy resin model system phenyl glycidyl ether, p ‐chloroaniline, and Monuron include amine addition to epoxy, homopolymerization of the epoxy, and a chain‐transfer reaction involving the hydroxy groups of the addition products. The present work examines the effect of variation in concentration of the accelerator Monuron, the amine‐to‐epoxy ratio, and the temperature on the competitive reaction mechanisms. The fraction of phenyl glycidyl ether reacting by homopolymerization increases with accelerator concentration and decreases with increasing amine‐to‐epoxy ratio and increasing temperature. The estimated contribution from chain transfer is much smaller and appears to parallel the homopolymerization reaction, as might be expected.