AN AROMATIC AMINE AS A CO-CURING AGENT IN EPOXY BISIMIDE BLENDS

The structural properties of epoxy can be retained and thermal stabili ty improved by blending epoxy with bismaleimide (BMI) and curing them simultaneously. Depending on the curing agent, the overall viscoelasti c properties of the cured material can be varied. In the present work, diaminodiphenylmethane and diaminodiphenyl sulfone have been used as curing agents to prepare blends of epoxy and BMI. The blends were char acterized by DSC, TG, DMA, and SEM. Results indicate that an excellent interpenetrating network forms in both the cases and that the DDM-cur ed system gives better thermal stability than that of the DDS-cured sy stem. (C) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.