Nanostructured thermosets from self-assembled amphiphilic block copolymer/epoxy resin mixtures: effect of copolymer content on nanostructures

作者：Blanco Miren; Lopez Marta; Kortaberria Galder; Mondragon Inaki^*

来源：Polymer International, 2010, 59(4): 523-528.

DOI：10.1002/pi.2731

• epoxy
• block copolymers
• nanostructuring
• atom ic force microscopy

Nanostructure formation in thermosets can allow the design of materials with interesting properties. The aim of this work was to obtain a nanostructured epoxy system by self-assembly of an amphiphilic diblock copolymer in an unreacted epoxy/amine mixture followed by curing of the matrix. The copolymer employed was polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA). The thermoset system, formed by a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A-type epoxy resin and diaminodiphenylmethane hardener, was chosen to ensure the miscibility of most of the PMMA block until matrix gelation. Transparent materials with microphase-separated domains were obtained for copolymer contents lower than 40 wt%. In systems containing 20 and 30 wt% block copolymer, the PS block formed spherical micelles or worm-like structures before curing, which were stabilized through curing by the more compatible PMMA block phase. Nanostructured thermoset systems were successfully synthesized for self-assembled amphiphilic block copolymer-epoxy/amine mixtures for copolymer contents lower than 40 wt%.

• 出版日期2010-4