Epoxy resins crosslinked with polyamines: Structure and properties

This paper sums up the current state-of-the-art on epoxy resins crosslinked with polyamines, and more particularly on: the crosslinking reactions; the structure and morphology of crosslinked systems and the parameters that influence them; the relationships between structure and properties over a wide range of temperatures. In spite of numerous studies devoted to these polymers, many points remain controversial, notably concerning the relationships between structure and properties in the temperature range of interest to most users, which is between the beta transition temperature and the alpha transition temperature (glass transition). If it is now widely accepted that the modulus in the glassy state is mainly controlled by the amplitude of the motions of hydroxypropylether groups created during the crosslinking reactions, the results regarding the ultimate mechanical properties (stress and deformation at break, crack propagation energy) are much more debated. The trends obtained appear to depend upon either the way the crosslink density has been modified (cure cycle, mixture composition, chain extenders, prepolymers of different lengths and flexibilities), or the polymers studied or even the authors. The discrepancies between authors could be due to the sample preparation, particularly the cooling rate at the end of the cure cycle, or the testing conditions, e.g. the strain rate.