Lugova G. Epoxy polymers and epoxy-silica composites cured with iso-methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride in the presence of metal acetylacetonates

Object: Synthesis and properties of epoxy polymers cured with anhydride and epoxy-silica composites obtained via the sol-gel method. The goal of the research: Synthesis of epoxy polymers and epoxy-silica composites with high performance level using metal acetylacetonates as anhydride curing catalysts and in situ sol-gel synthesis of silica filler. Methods: titration method of determination of epoxy and carboxyl groups; FTIR; 1Н NMR; differential scanning calorimetry; sol-gel analysis; thermomechanical analysis; differential thermomechanical analysis; scanning electron microscopy; dynamical mechanical analysis; gas-volumometric analysis; thermogravimetric method; derivatography; mass-spectrometry; gravimetric method, potentiodynamic method. Results: cure kinetics, structure, thermophysical, relaxation and anticorrosion properties of epoxy-silica composites obtained via the sol-gel method using metal acetylacetonates as anhydride curing catalysts were investigated. In presence of metal acetylacetonates the nano- and micro-sized silica particles are uniformly dispersed in epoxy matrix. Epoxy-silica composites are uniform and transparent. The network density on epoxy polymers depends on metal acetylacetonate used and increases in order Ni, Co, Fe, Cr. The composites' glass transition temperature and network density are lower compared to corresponding polymers. Combination of the sol-gel synthesis of silica filler and chromium acetylacetonate as cure catalyst provides high level of anticorrosion protection of thin protective coatings even without chemical activation of metal surface. Application field: anticorrosion coatings for metal surfaces.