Thermal properties of e-beam cured epoxy/thermoplastic matrices for advanced composite materials

The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility to improve the thermal behaviour of epoxy based systems, cured by ionizing radiation, in order to produce matrices for advanced carbon fibres composites. Blends of two epoxy monomers, difunctional and trifunctional, have been polymerized by e-beam irradiation and the dynamic mechanical thermal properties have been investigated. The increase of the concentration of the trifunctional epoxy monomer in the blend causes a marked increase of the Tg, but strongly decreases the reactivity. Subsequently, blends of the same epoxy monomers with a high Tg thermoplastic toughening agent have been considered and their reactivity and the thermal properties of the obtained materials have been also studied. The experimental results show that the thermoplastic component increases the reactivity of the difunctional/trifunctional blends, without a significant decrease of the glass transition temperature which still satisfies the requirements for advanced composite materials