Preparation of cationic latent initiators containing imidazole group and their effects on the properties of DGEBA epoxy resin

The thermal cationic latent initiators, N-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoroantimonate (BMH1) and N-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoroantimonate (BMH2) were synthesized and applied to the thermal cationic polymerization of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). The performance of BMH1 and BMH2 was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which showed good thermal latent properties and excelled epoxy resin curing behavior. The morphology, thermal, mechanical, and water sorption properties of DGEBA resin cured by 1 wt% of BMH1 and BMH2 were measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scaming electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), nanoindentation, and thin film diffusion analysis. The cured DGEBA/BMH1 system showed relatively higher thermal stability than the DGEBA/BMH2 system. The diffusion coefficient and water uptake were 14.2×10−9 cm2/s and 1.15 wt% for the DGEBA/BMH1 system and 11.5×10−9 cm2/s and 1.07 wt% for the DGEBA/BMH2 system, respectively. Therefore, DGEBA/BMH2 showed higher resistance to water sorption than DGEBA/BMH1. On the other hand, hardness and elastic modulus of DGEBA/BMH2 were higher than those of DGEBA/BMH1. This can be attributed to the difference in the end group of initiators as well as the degree of crosslinking in the cured resin network. Open image in new window