Synthesis and Thermal Properties of Cured Materials Obtained by the Reaction of Thermosetting Epoxy Resins with ε-Caprolactam

Abstract

We examined thermal curing reaction of various epoxy resins with ε-caprolactam (ε-CL). The reactions of epoxy resins and ε-CL were carried out in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) in the range between 80 and 170 ℃ for 2 h, the anionic ring-opening copolymerization proceeded to give corresponding cured products quantitatively. The glass transition temperatures and thermal stabilities of the obtained cured materials were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and each of them showed a high glass transition temperatures and high thermal stabilities.