Synthesis and Physical Properties of the Cured Product Composed of Various β-Methylglycidyl Ether-type Epoxy Resins

Abstract

In recent years, the epoxy resin composition capable of quick curing has been required from the point of view of energy conservation. For the purpose, cationic polymerization has been used as a curing system. We have already reported that Bisphenol A-type β-methyl diglycidyl ether had high reactivity and provided cured materials with flexiblity and low T_g in cationically curing system. These results stimulated us to design novel β-methylglycidyl ether-type epoxy resins with various molecular structures, which might be able to control the properties of cured materials. Here we synthesized four β-methyl diglycidyl ether-type epoxy resins with different central skeleton and investigated their reactivity and physical properties of the cured product in order to clarify the influence of center skeleton on the curing behavior and the physical properties of the cured product. The results of DSC analyses revealed that β-methyl diglycidyl ether-type epoxy resins having an electron-donating property in the central skeleton had a high curability. Furthermore, it was clarified that the hardness and T_g of cured materials could be controlled by the concentration of epoxy group in the composition and the rigidity of the central skeleton