Effect of CO2 fixation reaction on the curing behavior and surface morphology of tetrafunctional epoxy resin

A Tetrafunctional epoxy resin was modified using CO2 fixation process in the presence of tetra n-butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) as catalyst. The unmodified tetrafunctional epoxy resin (UMTE) and CO2 fixated modified tetra functional epoxy resin (CFMTE) were cured by diethylenetriamine (DETA). A bifunctional glycidyl ether compound was used as a reactive diluent to control the viscosity of CFMTE. The activation energy of curing reaction was computed using the advanced integral isoconversional method. The activation energy which depends on the conversion, was considerably changed due to the CO2 fixation process. The surface morphology of UMTE and CFMTE were determined by scanning electron microscope