Study on Mechanical Properties, Corrosion Resistance, and Antibacterial Properties of Glass Fiber/Epoxy Composite Prepared by Wet Winding Process

ABSTRACT In this study, an epoxy/anhydride resin was designed and synthesized utilizing co‐catalysts composed of tertiary amines and quaternary ammonium salts, alongside co‐antibacterial agents including thiol compounds and quaternary ammonium cations. The resulting resin system demonstrated a low viscosity of 350 mPa·s and exhibited a prolonged service life of 10 h at 25°C, thereby fulfilling the requirements of the wet winding process. The resin catalyzed by the co‐catalyst displayed an optimal cross‐linked network in which polyester and polyether coexisted, achieving a remarkable cross‐linking degree of up to 98.3%. The high degree of cross‐linking effectively reduced the penetration of water molecules or solutions into the resin structure, significantly enhancing its resistance to moisture as well as corrosion from acids and salts. Consequently, after immersion in water, NaCl and H ₂ SO ₄ solutions at 65°C for 30 days, the flexural strength retention rates were recorded at 93%, 92%, and 95%, respectively. Furthermore, the resin exhibited excellent long‐term antibacterial efficacy against four types of bacteria: Thermotolerant coliform colonies, Enterobacter cloacae , Enterococcus faecalis , and Enterococcus faecium . Therefore, the epoxy/anhydride resin holds promising application potential in reverse osmosis membrane housings (RO‐MH) manufacturing for seawater desalination as well as chemical water purification processes.