Abstract
Amphiphilic block copolymers provide a unique means for toughening epoxy resins because they can self-assemble into different inclusion shapes before epoxy curing. The two examples reported here are spherical micelles and vesicles, which form in blends containing epoxy and symmetric or asymmetric poly(ethylene oxide)-poly-(ethylene-alt-propylene) (PEO-PEP) block copolymer with PEO volume fractions of 0.5 and 0.26, respectively. The vesicles and spherical micelles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), respectively. SAXS data from the spherical micelles were fit to the Percus-Yevick model for a liquid-like packing of spheres with hard-core interactions. Mechanical properties of spherical-micelle-modified and vesicle-modified epoxies in the dilute limit are compared. The glass-transition temperature and Young's (storage) modulus were tested with dynamic mechanical spectroscopy, and compact-tension experiments were performed to determine the critical plane-strain energy release rate for fracture. Vesicles were most effective in improving the epoxy fracture resistance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2996-3010 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 23 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2001 |
Keywords
- Block copolymers
- Epoxies
- Fracture toughness
- Micelles
- Vesicles
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Micellar structure and mechanical properties of block copolymer-modified epoxies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver