Performance of CTBN(carboxyl-terminated poly (butadiene-co-acrylonitrile))-EP(diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA)) prepolymers and CTBN-EP/polyetheramine (PEA) system

CTBN-EP prepolymers were synthesized from CTBN and epoxy resin under the catalysis of HTMAB. FTIR analyses indicate the formation of ester group between the carboxyl group of CTBN and the oxirane group of epoxy resin. The viscosity of modified prepolymer increases with CTBN content increasing, but the epoxy value of the prepolymer decreases greatly. DSC analyses verify that CTBN affects the curing process of CTBN-EP/PEA system. Mechanical testing presents the improved toughness of CTBN-EP/PEA curings for the decrease of tensile strength, flexural strength and compressive strength, and increase of impact strength and elongation-at-break with the CTBN content increasing. SEM micrographs show the rubber phase with many holes in diameter about 0.5–1.5 µm is formed when CTBN content is lower than 10 phr. However, the pattern of SEM graph shows some stalactite-like strips when CTBN content is higher than 15 phr. Furthermore, the SEM image of 25 phr CTBN sample forms a kind of co-continuous structure.