THERMOSETS OBTAINED BY CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF EPICHLOROHYDRIN-ETHYLENE OXIDE COPOLYMER AND THEIR CROSS-LINKING THROUGH DOUBLE-BONDS

The epichlorohydrin-ethyleneoxide copolymer is modified with 10-undece noate and 4-pentenoate moieties in order to obtain thermosets by cross -linking through their double bonds. These polymers are then character ized using NMR, IR, chlorine elemental analyses, Xray powder diffracti on, DSC, TGA, and viscosimetric measurements. Because the thermal cros slinking reaction overlaps in all cases with degradation processes, a free radical source (dicumyl peroxide) is necessary. The Arrhenius kin etic parameters are determined by DSC, using Ozawa and Kissinger expre ssions. Finally, the quality of cured materials is tested by TGA. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.