Epoxy resin cured with poly(4-vinyl pyridine)

Poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) was used as the macromolecular curing agent to prepare epoxy networks. The crosslinking structures were investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is identified that depending on the ratios of DGEBA to P4VP, different reactions dominated the formation of the crosslinking networks, which were involved the formation of pyridone (or cyclic amide) resulting from epoxide groups of DGEBA and pyridine rings of P4VP, the Diels-Alder reaction of in situ formed conjugated 3,5-diene in a 6-member ring and the homopolymerization of DGEBA initiated by pyridine moiety of P4VP. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that all the DGEBA-P4VP co-crosslinked thermosets displayed single glass transition temperature (Tg), suggesting that the crosslinked networks are homogenous. In addition, it is noted that the Tg’s of the DGEBA-rich network are greatly dependent on the molecular weight of P4VP used. C 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.