New Series of High-Performance Epoxy Resins (031)

Composites made with epoxy resins are currently being used in various applications such as structural members for aeronautical purposes and as circuit boards in the electronics industry. Major drawbacks of epoxy resins are brittleness and sensitivity to moisture. Epoxy resins absorb moisture which decreases apparent glass transition temperatures and reduces upper service temperatures. As a result, the upper use temperature limit of advanced epoxy composites is 250°F. The brittleness of the final cured structure tends to cause microcracking in the composite. 

The University of Dayton Research Institute has synthesized a series of new epoxy resins with properties superior to those of commercially-available materials. Evaluations of cured and post-cured neat castings of these new resins have shown that our materials are less brittle than state-of-the-art epoxies, and their thermal properties are equal to or better than those of existing epoxy materials. Also, the moisture sensitivity of these new epoxy resins is much lower than that of the commercially-available resins. The advantages of this new series of epoxy resins are:

• More flexible cured network
• Greater toughness
• Lower moisture sensitivity 
• High payback of performance improvement in comparison to costs of starting reactants

U.S. Patent No. 4,916,202 on composition and preparation of these resins was issued April 10, 1990.

For more information, please contact the Office for Technology Partnerships at 937-229-3515.

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