V. I. Irzhak

Estimation of topological structure of epoxycarbonate systems formed on amine-curing without heat supply

The effect of active cyclocarbonate-containing modifying agents on the topological structure of epoxyamine templates is considered. The estimation of the topological structure and the adequacy of the real process are presented.

Topological Structure of Amine-Cured Epoxycarbonate Systems

The fragility of polymeric materials is largely determined by the topological structure of the polymeric template [1]. Therefore, targeted modification of the structure of cross-linked polymers, including that using active modifying agents, is an important task. This study deals with the effect of propylene cyclocarbonate (PC) as an active modifying agent on the topological structure of cross-linked polymers obtained by curing the epoxy oligomer ED-20 with diethylenetriamine (DETA) without heat supply (at room temperature). The structure of a cross-linked polymer can be characterized by probabilistic calculations if the threedimensional polycondensation involves no “substitution effect,” i.e., the structure is a unique function of the conversion [2]. Otherwise, when the polycondensation is nonrandom, i.e., the polymer structure depends also on the reaction route, it can be characterized only by kinetic calculations or computer simulation.

Rheology of Physical Networks

The goal of the work is to describe the rheological properties of polymers from viewpoint of physical network taking into account physical bonds of any types: from topological crosslinks (entanglements) to localized strong ones (hydrogen type) including micro phase and mesocrystalline structures (Irzhak et al. (1997)). Such approach is in according to novel theory of chains diffusion developed by Schweizer (1989), Schweizer and Szamel (1995), Tang and Schweizer (1996), namely, mode-coupled theory.