Amphiphilic block copolymers and inorganic nanofillers to enhance performance of thermosetting polymers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9388311-B2
Application number	US-66877708-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2008
Priority date	Aug 2, 2007
Publication date	Jul 12, 2016
Grant date	Jul 12, 2016

Abstract

Curable compositions, cured compositions, and methods of forming the same, including an epoxy resin, a curing agent, an amphiphilic toughening agent, and an inorganic nanofiller, wherein the toughening agent forms a second phase having at least one dimension being on the nanometer scale.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A curable composition, comprising:
(a) an epoxy resin;
(b) a curing agent;
(c) an amphiphilic block copolymer toughening agent that creates a second phase with at least one dimension being on the nanometer scale; and
(d) an inorganic nanofiller;

wherein the curable composition, when cured, provides a composite containing both a toughening agent, component (c), a nanofiller, component (d), exhibits a fracture toughness of at least 20 percent greater than a composite containing either a toughening agent, component (c) or a nanofiller, component (d), alone.

2. The curable composition of claim 1 , wherein the epoxy resin ranges from about 30 to about 98 percent by volume of the curable composition.

3. The curable composition of claim 1 , wherein the curable composition comprises 0.1 to 100 parts curing agent per hundred parts epoxy resin by weight.

4. The curable composition of claim 1 , wherein the curable composition comprises from about 1 to about 20 percent toughening agent by volume.

5. The curable composition of claim 1 , wherein the curable composition comprises from about 1 to about 10 percent nanofiller by volume.

6. The curable composition of claim 1 , wherein the nanofiller comprises silica.

7. The curable composition of claim 1 , further comprising a catalyst.

8. The curable composition of claim 7 , wherein the curable composition comprises 0.1 to 10 parts catalyst per hundred parts epoxy resin by weight.

9. The curable composition of claim 1 , further comprising from about 20 to about 70 percent by volume of a reinforcing material.

10. A composite, comprising a reaction product of a curable composition comprising:
(a) 30 to 98 percent by volume of an epoxy resin;
(b) a curing agent;
(c) an amphiphilic block copolymer toughening agent forming a second phase and having at least one dimension being on the nanometer scale; and
(d) an inorganic nanofiller

wherein the curable composition, when cured, provides the composition containing both a toughening agent, component (c), and a nanofiller, component (d), exhibits a fracture toughness of at least 20 percent greater than a composite containing either a toughening agent, component (c) or a nanofiller, component (d), alone.

Assignees

• Verghese Kandathil Eapen
• Pham Ha Q
• Jacob George
• Dettloff Marvin L
• Dow Global Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Verghese Kandathil Eapen
• Pham Ha Q
• Jacob George
• Dettloff Marvin L

Classifications

• C08L71/02 Primary

  Polyalkylene oxides · CPC title

• C08L63/00 Primary

  Compositions of epoxy resins; Compositions of derivatives of epoxy resins · CPC title

• C08J2471/02

  Polyalkylene oxides · CPC title

• C08J2363/00

  Characterised by the use of epoxy resins; Derivatives of epoxy resins · CPC title

• C08J3/24

  Crosslinking, e.g. vulcanising, of macromolecules (mechanical aspects B29C35/00; crosslinking agents C08K) · CPC title