Rheometric Determination of a Furan Resin Pot-Life in the Presence of a Homologous Series of Dicarboxylic Acid Catalysts

Pot life and curing behavior of a furan resin is investigated in the presence of acid catalysts. Acid catalysts were selected as a homologous series of dicarboxylic acids i.e., oxalic acid (OA), Succinic acid (SA) and Adipic acid (AA) differing in their Ka values. The study was performed by rheometric measurements on the curing mixture at ambient conditions on 0, 6 and 24 h. after mixing of resin and the catalyst. The relaxation exponent, gel stiffness and gel strength parameters were calculated adopting the Winter-Chambon-Gabriele model. According to the results, OA significantly increased stiffness, gel strength of the crosslinked network formed upon curing in comparison to SA and AA. In addition, AA and AA acts as a plasticizer reducing modulus and viscosity with increasing the reaction time from 0 to 24 h.

Keywords:

Rheometry , Curing kinetics , Pot life , Furan resin , Homologous dicarboxylic acids