Epoxy cure kinetics by in situ NIR-measurements
- The application of epoxy resins is variating from low cost adhesive to high performance plastics. As a result, the choice of monomer, hardener and in particular the curing treatment define the final product properties. For process optimization and ensuring product quality the curing kinetics of epoxy resin needs to be known. This is usually done by use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) or rheology measurements.
In the presented study, we will approve the applicability of the heatable near-infrared (NIR) cell 1 as alternative method to determine cure kinetics. This spectroscopic method in the NIR region enables following the cure progress by the characteristic oxirane absorption band 2,3. According to the reactivity of this functional group, the consumption of it should be a key factor for cross linking density and hence the mechanical performance of the material. Kinetic parameters will be provided by non-isothermal heating rates and predicted epoxy conversion for a typicalThe application of epoxy resins is variating from low cost adhesive to high performance plastics. As a result, the choice of monomer, hardener and in particular the curing treatment define the final product properties. For process optimization and ensuring product quality the curing kinetics of epoxy resin needs to be known. This is usually done by use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) or rheology measurements.
In the presented study, we will approve the applicability of the heatable near-infrared (NIR) cell 1 as alternative method to determine cure kinetics. This spectroscopic method in the NIR region enables following the cure progress by the characteristic oxirane absorption band 2,3. According to the reactivity of this functional group, the consumption of it should be a key factor for cross linking density and hence the mechanical performance of the material. Kinetic parameters will be provided by non-isothermal heating rates and predicted epoxy conversion for a typical cure treatment (Figure 1). The verification of the investigated cure kinetics is ensured by multiple step curing processes in the in situ NIR heating cell and ex situ on real samples.
In this presentation, we will introduce the heatable near-infrared (NIR) cell to investigate kinetic parameters for various epoxy resins, using diverse curing processes. Advantages and disadvantages of the method will be described as well as the comparison with DSC results.…