Epoxies modified by palmitic acid: From hot-melt adhesives to plasticized networks

Abstract

Reactions taking place in a homogeneous solution of an epoxy monomer based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and palmitic acid (PA), in the presence of benzyldimethylamine (BDMA), were investigated using Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). In the stoichiometric formulations prepared with equal molar ratios of epoxy (E) to carboxyl groups, E/PA = 1, the main reaction was the carboxyl addition to the epoxy giving a β‐hydroxy ester. This reaction was followed by transesterification that occurred to a very small extent. In the formulations prepared with an epoxy excess, E/PA > 1, the transesterification reactions were very significant as well as the homopolymerization of the epoxy excess that took place to an almost complete conversion. Reaction products synthesized in the range of 1 < E/PA < 2 were solids at room temperature due to the crystallization of a fraction of fatty acid chains. Above the melting temperature, reaction products recovered the liquid state. The formulation synthesized with E/PA = 2 exhibited a good behavior as a hot‐melt adhesive of steel sheets with a single lap‐shear strength of 2.5 MPa and an interfacial‐cohesive failure. For E/PA > 3, the gelation took place leading to the networks exhibiting a single glass transition temperature (Tg) without any evidence of crystallization or phase separation. Tg varied from 90 °C for the neat epoxy to 0 °C for the formulation with E/PA = 3.