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Mechanical Properties of Epoxy/Thermoplastic Blends

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Book cover Handbook of Epoxy Blends

Abstract

Thermoset (TS) epoxy resins have drawn a lot of attention over the last years in several fields including transportation, construction, and electronics owed to their excellent combination of mechanical properties, ease of processing, and low cost. However, their brittleness is a main disadvantage that limits their applications. Incorporation of thermoplastic (TP) polymers, i.e., poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO), polysulfone (PSF), or polyetherimide (PEI), has found to overcome this drawback. In this chapter, the phase separation and mechanical properties of selected TS/TP blends will be described, and the toughening mechanisms that have been proposed will be discussed. Further, the morphology and mechanical properties of TS/TP-based ternary nanocomposites, with special emphasis on those containing carbon-based nanofillers such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon black (CB), or graphene oxide (GO), will be addressed. These blends typically undergo reaction-induced phase separation upon curing, leading to different morphologies such as dispersed, co-continuous, dendritic, or phase inverted. Examples have been selected to demonstrate the importance of the asymmetric distribution of the nanofillers for developing new materials with enhanced properties, superior than those attained in the corresponding nanofiller-reinforced binary samples. These multifunctional materials are expected to have a wide range of applications, particularly in sensing devices, shape memory, and self-healing materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Biology, Environmental Sciences and Chemistry, Alcalá University, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    Ana M. Díez-Pascual

Authors
  1. Ana M. Díez-Pascual
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Correspondence to Ana M. Díez-Pascual .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, India

    Jyotishkumar Parameswaranpillai

  2. Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

    Nishar Hameed

  3. Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Dresden, Germany

    Jürgen Pionteck

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, China

    Eamor M. Woo

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Díez-Pascual, A.M. (2017). Mechanical Properties of Epoxy/Thermoplastic Blends. In: Parameswaranpillai, J., Hameed, N., Pionteck, J., Woo, E. (eds) Handbook of Epoxy Blends. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40043-3_25

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