Effects of particle size and rubber content on fracture toughness in rubber-modified epoxies

The effects of particle size of core-shell rubber on the fracture toughness of rubber-modified epoxies were investigated. Various sizes of core-shell rubber particles, from 0.16 to 1.2 mu m in diameter, were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization. Particle size effects were clearly seen for lower crosslinked diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/piperidine resin. Fracture toughness increased as the particle size of core-shell rubber decreased from 1.2 to 0.4 mu m. On the other hand, fracture toughness was constant in this range of particle sizes for higher crosslinked DGEBA/diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) resin. Cavitation in the rubbery core and shear deformation in the matrix are the toughening mechanisms for DGEBA/piperidine resin, whereas cavitation is the only mechanism for DGEBA/DDM resin. Toughening effectiveness decreased with <0.2 mu m core-shell rubber particles since they are difficult to cavitate, The effects of core-shell rubber content on fracture toughness of rubber-modified epoxies were also examined. The optimum rubber content for maximum toughness of rubber-modified epoxies decreased with decreased particle size of core-shell rubber in shear deformable DGEBA/piperidine resin. But the fracture toughness of rubber-modified DGEBA/DDM resins increased as the rubber content increased.