Effects of DMP-30 on curing behavior of epoxy resin/maleicanhydride systems

The curingprocess and kinetics of tris (dimethylaminomethyl)phenol(DMP-30)/epoxy resin(E-51)/maleic anhydride(MA) systemswere investigated by DSC using a non-isothermal methodunder different heating-up rates. Theapparent activation energy of the curing system was calculated by Kissinger method and Ozawa methodrespectively, and the reaction was classifiedby Crane formula. Moreover, the optimized curing process was analyzed by DSC, and the curing behavior of the curing system with 2% (wt) DMP-30 was predicted. The results indicate that the apparent activation energy and reaction temperature of DMP-30/E-51/MA systems decrease with the increase of DMP-30, and the curing process of the curing reactions follows the first order reaction. The addition of DMP-30 does not change epoxy resin curing mechanism.DSC data shows thatthe optimized curing process of the curing systems is 90℃/2h→120℃/2h→130℃/1h.The curing behavior of the curing system with 2% (wt) DMP-30 is predicted by curing kinetics equations, which providestheoretical basis to achieve higher curing degree by raisingtemperature and increasing reaction time.