ABS‐Modified Epoxy Resins – Curing Kinetics, Polymerization Induced Phase Separation, and Resulting Morphologies

Summary: A commercial diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) was modified with an acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene‐copolymer (ABS) and cured with the diamine hardener 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS). The curing kinetics was followed by DSC‐ and PVT‐measurements. The polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) was studied using light microscopy and electron microscopy. While the cloud point analyzed by light microscopy is independent of the ABS content, the curing is accelerated by the presence of ABS. The non‐linear dependency of the curing rate on the ABS content must have its origin in the different morphologies developed due to PIPS.