Development of High-Performance Polyaromatic Epoxy Resins by Using In situ Oligomerization of Alkoxysilane

Abstract

Sol－gel reaction of 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane in polyaromatic epoxy resins resulted in the formation of the resins in which precursors of the polysiloxane were homogeneously dispersed. Viscosity of the obtained resins was lower than that of the corresponding original resins. The resins containing the polysiloxane precursors were cured by 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone, and thermal properties of the resulting cured hybrid resins were evaluated. As a result, these hybrid thermosets showed better thermal properties compared with the corresponding non-hybridized products at higher temperatures than their glass transition temperatures. Effect of epoxy matrix structures and curing agents on properties of the resultant hybrid cured products was also examined in order to expand the range of application of the in situ oligomerization method reported in this study.