Abstract
Synopsis: The focus of this paper is the dependence of polymerization behaviors of epoxides on initiators involving imidazole (Im), 4-aminopyridine (AP) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP). Using these basic initiators, polymerization behaviors of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Isoconversional method was applied to investigate a conversion-activation energy relationship during the polymerization. The analysis revealed a gradual increase of activation energy with progress of the DMAP-initiated polymerization, whereas a gradual decrease was observed in the Im-initiated and AP-initiated ones. Another remarkable finding in this investigation was the much lower activation energy in the AP-initiated polymerization throughout the polymerization process than in the Iminitiated polymerization, which suggested the advantage of AP as a highly efficient initiator for curing reaction of epoxy resins.
