TOUGHENING MECHANISMS IN THERMOPLASTIC-MODIFIED EPOXIES .1. MODIFICATION USING POLY(PHENYLENE OXIDE)

An epoxy based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) has been modified with poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and cured with piperidine. A two-phase alloy resulted, in which the DGEBA epoxy was the continuous phase. Several PPO loadings were investigated. The tensile yield strengths of these PPO-modified epoxies were found to be independent of PPO content. In contrast, the fracture toughness improved with PPO content in a linear fashion. The micromechanical mechanism responsible for the improvement in toughness was found to consist of crack bifurcation and microcracking. Some evidence of particle bridging was also observed, and it is thought that particle bridging may play an important role in the formation of a microcracked damage zone.