Epoxy as a reactive plasticizer for improving polycarbonate processibility

Abstract

International audienceAn oligomer of a diepoxy (bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether, DGEBA) and an aromatic diamine (MCDEA) have been used as reactive plasticizers for polycarbonate (PC). A small amount of PC chain scission occurred during this blending process, probably due to transesterification of the PC carbonate group by the hydroxyl group of the DGEBA oligomer. Addition of DGEBA to PC was found to greatly reduce the Tg and processing temperature. Dynamic rheology measurements showed that the added epoxy can very effectively reduce the viscosity, but that the addition of epoxy also accelerated the crystallisation rate of the PC, which was confirmed by XRD, optical transmission microscopy and DMTA. The DMTA results of cured blends also showed that this crystallization of the PC enhanced their heat resistance properties. Sol-gel studies of the cured samples showed that some of the PC was grafted to the crosslinked epoxy network. Studies of the rubbery behaviour, solvent resistance of the cured blend and SEM images suggest that PC is the main continuous phase in the matrix and that the epoxy phase is mainly dispersed as sub-micron particles in the matrix

Plasticizer effect on network structure and hydrolytic degradation

“…(7) The tan d(T) curve displays a single peak, showing that triacetin is fully dissolved in the polymer. The peak amplitude is an increasing function of the plasticizer content, which is not systematic in the literature for other polymer-plasticizer mixtures (see for instance [26,28,29]). The comparison of P, P+TA 50/50 extracted and P+TA 25/75 extracted suggests this effect is not linked to the architecture of the polymer but rather to the triacetin content.…”

A study on glass fiber reinforced composites from 2,3-epoxypropyl-3-(2-furyl) acrylate and methyl methacrylate

“…With the addition of o-cresol groups to the backbone of epoxy resins, the improved resins are considered worthy of further study in terms of their good thermal stability, electrical properties, chemical resistance, mechanical properties, and modification [6]. Several studies have been carried out on epoxy blends containing thermoplastics such as polycarbonate [7][8][9], poly(ether imide)s [10][11][12], poly(phenylene oxide) [13] and poly(ether sulfone) [14][15][16]. The polymer was functionalized with different reactive groups to improve its interfacial adhesion between the two phases.…”

Evaluation of the effects of acetyl tributyl citrate as bio‐based plasticizer on the physical, thermal, and dynamical mechanical properties of poly(vinyl chloride)/polymethyl methacrylate blends

“…Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is widely used in different applications. Even if PVC is one of the clearest and toughest plastics, it is delicate to process due to its high melt viscosity and rigidity, which results in relatively high processing temperatures . To resolve this problem, plasticizers are used, because they improve the flexibility and process ability of PVC by decreasing it glass transition temperature (Tg) .…”