Decomposition of Epoxy Resin E-44/METHPA by Tetrahydronaphthalene

In this paper, the epoxy resin cured with methyl tetrahydrophthalic anhydride was decomposed by 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time and feedstock ratio on the decomposition ratio of epoxy resin were studied respectively. It was found that the decomposition ratio of epoxy resin increased with an increase in reaction temperature and reaction time. The feedstock ratio produced little influence on the decomposition ratio of epoxy resin. Phenol homologues and aromatic compounds were detected in the decomposition products by GC-MS. Thus the decomposition mechanism could be concluded that radicals were formed by the homolysis of thermo-labile bonds in the resin under high temperature. Then the stable small organic molecules could be obtained by the combination of formed radicals and the active hydrogen derived from tetrahydronaphthalene.