Flame retardant epoxy polymers using phosphorus- containing polyalkylene amines as curing agents

Two series of novel phosphorus-containing poly(alkylene) amines with or wit hout aromatic groups were synthesized via reacting phosphoryl chloride deri vatives with commercially available polyetheramines, ethylenediamine and N- phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine, respectively. Chemical structures of the amine s were characterized with FTIR, NMR, P (phosphorus) content measurement, an d amine content titration. These amines were then utilized as curing agents to react with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A for preparing phosphorus con taining epoxy polymers. The introduction of soft -P-O- linkage, polyalkyene , and hard aromatic group into the backbones of the synthesized phosphorus- containing amine (PCA) provides epoxy resins with tunable flexibility. Ther mal analysis of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetr ic analysis (TGA) reveals that these resulted epoxy resins possess moderate Tg's and thermal stability. Furthermore, high char yields in TGA and high limited oxygen index (LOI) values indicate that these phosphorus-containing epoxy (PCE) resins are capable of exhibiting excellent flame retardant pro perties. These polymers can be potentially utilized in flame retardant epox y coatings and other applications. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.