No abstract

Epoxy resins are increasingly finding applications in the field of structural engineering. A wide variety of epoxy resins are available, and some of them are characterized by relatively low toughness. Several approaches to improve epoxy resin toughness include the addition of fillers, rubber particles, thermoplastics, or their hybrids, as well as interpenetrating networks and flexibilizers, such as polyols. It seems that this last approach did not receive much attention. So in an attempt to fill this gap, the present work deals with the use of hydroxyl-terminated polyester resins as toughening agents for epoxy resin. For this purpose, the modifier, that is, a hydroxylterminated polyester resin (commercially referred to as Desmophen), which is a polyol, has been used at different concentrations. The prepared modified structure has been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) prior to mechanical testing in terms of impact strength and toughness. Two types of Desmophen (800 and 1200) have been used as modifiers. The obtained results showed that hydroxyl-terminated polyester improves the epoxy toughness. In fact, the impact strength increases with Desmophen content and reaches a maximum value of 7.65 J/m at 10 phr for Desmophen 800 and 9.36 J/m at 7.5 phr for Desmophen 1200, respectively. At a critical concentration (7.5 phr), Desmophen 1200 (with higher molecular weight, longer chains, and lower branching) leads to better results. Concerning K c , the effect of Desmophen 800 is almost negligible; whereas a drastic effect is observed with Desmophen 1200 as K c reaches a maximum of 2.41 MPa m 1/2 , compared to 0.9 MPa m 1/2 of the unmodified epoxy prior to decreasing. This is attributed to the intensive hydrogen bonding between epoxy and Desmophen 1200, as revealed by FTIR spectroscopy. Finally, the SEM analysis results suggested that the possible toughening mechanism for the epoxy resin being considered, which might prevail, is through localized plastic shear yielding induced by the presence of the Desmophen particles.

Polypyrrole (PPy) thin films were prepared electrochemically at a constant potential. Gas-sensing behaviors, including reproducibility, sensitivity, and response time to various benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) compound concentrations, were investigated. BTEX compounds were found to be able to compensate for the doping level of PPy and, hence, decrease the conductivity of PPy on exposure to them. A reasonable reproducibility of the resistance change (⌬R) was obtained. The sensitivity for each compound was 2.3 m⍀/ppm (benzene), 0.4 m⍀/ppm (toluene), 8.3 m⍀/ppm (ethylbenzene), and 2.9 m⍀/ppm (xylene). An adsorption model correlated well with the experimental results and was used to interpret the sensing behaviors. The parameters of this model, including the adsorption equilibrium constant and the ⌬R caused by a pseudomonolayer of the detecting layer {[m(r 1 Ϫ r 0 )]/n, where m is the number of active sites on the pseudomonolayer; r 1 and r 0 are the site resistances when the site is vacant and occupied, respectively; and n is the thickness of the film}, were determined. According to the parameters, toluene vapor had the most prominent effect in undoping PPy film but the poorest affinity to the active sites of the film. On the other hand, ethylbenzene showed the highest affinity to PPy film compared to the other BTEX compounds and consequently led to the highest sensitivity for such a sensor.

Epoxy resin was modified with polyurethane having different isocyanate index. Impact strength, tensile strength, elongation at break and flexural strength were estimated as functions of polyurethane content and isocyanate index. Hardness, linear expansion coefficient and the deflection temperature under load were estimated for selected compositions. Infrared spectroscopy was carried out for unmodified epoxy resin and compositions with improved mechanical properties. Maximum improvement in the fracture toughness was reached with polyurethane with highest content of isocyanate. Hardness was not affected but elastic modulus decreased, implying a softening of epoxy-based compositions. The infrared spectra indicated that an excess of isocyanate groups leads to a grafting process between the modifier and the matrix, explaining the toughening of the latter.