Gamma-rays initiated cationic polymerization of epoxy resins and their carbon nanotubes composites

Przybytniak, G.; Nowicki, Andrzej; Mirkowski, K.; Stobiński, Leszek

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2015.11.037

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Fast curing resin formulations with cure times of less than 20 min have been used for rapid production of thermosetting polymer composites . However, such resin systems have a limited pot life and produce a high amount of exothermic heat from bulk polymerization, resulting in material degradation, buildup of residual stresses, and poor dimensional stability of produced composite parts. , Radiation curing is an alternative approach for manufacturing thermoset polymer composites, where various electromagnetic waves within the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., ultraviolet, gamma, radio frequency, infrared, and microwave) are used to provide energy for curing of composites. − Although each of these curing methods have their own distinct advantages, none of them have gained widespread acceptance in the industry due to their specific limitations. For example, UV-curing is limited to the manufacture of glass-fiber-reinforced composites with a limited thickness, as the depth of penetration of radiation is very low in composites reinforced with carbon or aramid fibers .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid and Energy-Efficient Frontal Curing of Multifunctional Composites Using Integrated Nanostructured Heaters

Naseri

Yourdkhani

2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Current technologies for the manufacture of fiberreinforced polymer composites are energy-intensive, environmentally unfriendly, and time-consuming and require expensive equipment and resources. In addition, composites typically lack key nonstructural functionalities (e.g., electrical conductivity for deicing, lightning strike protection, and structural health monitoring), which are crucial to many applications such as aerospace and wind energy. Here, we present a new approach for rapid and energy-efficient manufacturing of multifunctional composites without using traditional expensive autoclaves, ovens, or heated molds used for curing of composites. Our approach is predicated on embedding a thin conductive nanostructured paper in the composite layup to act as a resistive heater for triggering frontal polymerization of the matrix thermosetting resin of the composite laminate. Upon passing electric current, the nanostructured paper quickly heats up and initiates frontal polymerization, which then rapidly propagates through the thickness of the laminate, resulting in rapid curing of composites (within seconds to few minutes) irrespective of the size of the composite laminate. The integrated nanostructured paper remains advantageous during the service of the composite part by imparting new functionalities (e.g., deicing) to the cured composite, owing to its excellent electrical conductivity and electrothermal properties. In this work, we first study the influence of several composite processing parameters on the electrothermal properties of the nanostructured paper and determine the power required for rapid initiation of frontal polymerization. We then successfully fabricate a 10 cm × 10 cm composite panel within 1 min using only 4.49 kJ of energy, which is 4 orders of magnitude less than the energy consumed by the traditional bulk, oven-curing technique. Detailed experiments are conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of the effect of heater position, tooling material, and input power on frontal curing of composite laminates. The multifunctional response of produced composites is demonstrated by performing a deicing experiment, where a 50 × 50 × 3 mm 3 cube of ice is completely melted within 3 min using an input power of 77 W.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid and Energy-Efficient Frontal Curing of Multifunctional Composites Using Integrated Nanostructured Heaters

Naseri

Yourdkhani

2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Amine curing agent takes a long curing time while thermal curing and light curing are easily limited by environmental factors 1,2 . Therefore, new curing technologies have been developed such as microwave curing, high energy electron beam radiation curing and radical induced cationic frontal polymerization (RICFP) [3][4][5] . Among them, RICFP can be stably carried out without continuous initiation conditions, thus overcomes the limitation of curing conditions to a certain extent, and limitations caused by long curing time can also be solved stem from its rapid curing ability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excessive radical induced cationic frontal polymerization lead to a decline of material properties

Liu

Qian

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Radical induced cationic frontal polymerization (RICFP) can significantly improve the curing efficiency of epoxy resins. However, conditions such as excessive initiators lead to violent reaction of the frontal polymerization, which will adversely affect the performance of the product. Herein, the effect of the reaction degree on the tensile strength of RICFP-cured bisphenol A epoxy resin was studied, and the optimum ratio was measured by response surface methodology. Components and molecule structures of the products were analyzed by GC/MS, FTIR and XPS. The principle that overreaction affects the tensile strength of products was further explained. In addition, it was found that the epoxy value of resin may determine whether RICFP could be achieved. This could be remedied by adding ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, which could significantly promote the reactivity. Its principle and overreaction were further studied and explained.

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“…Most of the industrial solutions are currently based on robust systems that polymerize upon exposure to an energetic stimulus by activating latent onium salt initiators that are sensitive to high temperatures or to different types of radiation (UV-visible, accelerated electrons, X-rays and γ-rays) [15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 22 favorably affect the architecture and the cross-link density of the formed network (Scheme 2). Most of the industrial solutions are currently based on robust systems that polymerize upon exposure to an energetic stimulus by activating latent onium salt initiators that are sensitive to high temperatures or to different types of radiation (UVvisible, accelerated electrons, X-rays and γ-rays) [15][16][17]. The cationic chain polymerization process which was selected for our current work will be preferably triggered by exposure to high-energy irradiation which efficiently induces the polymerization of epoxy resins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cationic Curing of Epoxy–Aromatic Matrices for Advanced Composites: The Assets of Radiation Processing

2022

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Cross-linking polymerization of multifunctional aromatic monomers initiated by exposure to high energy radiation continues to be explored as a promising alternative to thermal curing for the production of high-performance composite materials. High-energy radiation processing offers several advantages over thermosetting technology by allowing for fast and out-of-autoclave curing operations and for its adaptability in the manufacturing of large and complex structures at reduced energy costs. The present article covers the basic aspects of radiation curing by cationic polymerization of epoxy resins, providing a status report on recent investigations conducted in our group to improve the properties of epoxy matrices and gain better control over the process for producing composites. A selection of results based on blends prepared with different composition of epoxy aromatics, transfer agents, thermoplastic toughening agents and onium salt initiators exemplifies the importance of the composition on polymerization kinetics and on the properties of resulting materials. The superiority of radiation-triggered polymerization-induced phase separation of thermoplastic additives is emphasized by the obtained morphology of toughened materials. The low initial temperature and fast curing of the reactive blends limits the expansion of phase-separated thermoplastic domains, resulting in an enhancement of the toughness.

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Gamma-rays initiated cationic polymerization of epoxy resins and their carbon nanotubes composites

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Rapid and Energy-Efficient Frontal Curing of Multifunctional Composites Using Integrated Nanostructured Heaters

Rapid and Energy-Efficient Frontal Curing of Multifunctional Composites Using Integrated Nanostructured Heaters

Excessive radical induced cationic frontal polymerization lead to a decline of material properties

Cationic Curing of Epoxy–Aromatic Matrices for Advanced Composites: The Assets of Radiation Processing

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