Study of the curing kinetics and heat resistance of isotropic conductive adhesive

In this study, the curing kinetic models of a self-made isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) and the corresponding unfilled matrix resin were established and the relationships among glass transition temperature (T-g), curing time and temperature were obtained with their individual DiBenedetto equations, which enables the design of the curing process of ICA with the expected heat resistance performance. An autocatalyzed kinetic model was used to describe the curing reaction and the kinetic parameters were determined through the thermal data obtained by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) under isothermal conditions. The activation energy values for the curing reaction of the ICA and the unfilled matrix resin were determined to be 68.1 kJ/mol and 72.9 kJ/mol respectively, which means the curing process of ICA takes place relatively easier. The as-obtained and calculated data of the curing behavior were compared to verify the accuracy of the established equations and it shows a good consistency. The addition of micron-scale silver flakes does not change the curing mechanisms very much. Finally, time-temperature profile can be calculated for any T-g required through the curing kinetic model and the DiBenedetto equation.