Abstract
SynopsisPreparation of lignophenol (LP)-cured epoxy resin (LER) and evaluation of properties of the obtained resin were studied as a part of effective use of biomass materials. Curing reaction between LP and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) was carried out by heating up to 180 °C in the presence of imidazole derivative (2E4MZ-CN) to afford LERs as novel thermosetting resins (LERs). LERs had well-balanced thermal and mechanical properties. Especially, LER2 (epoxy group : phenol group = 1 : 0.9 ) showed the superior properties, that is, glass transition temperature (Tg) of 198 °C and 5% weight loss temperature (Td5) of at 373 °C. The Tg was more than 60 °C higher than that of the conventional phenol novolac-cured DGEBA. However, the flexural strength of LER2 was 134 MPa, which was a little lower than that of the phenol novolaccured DGEBA. From these results, it was demonstrated that LP was a promising curing agent for epoxy resins.
