Epoxy-Amine Adduct Sizing Agent for Carbon Fiber Adhesion and Blending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing epoxy-amine adducts lack sufficient reactivity, leading to inadequate adhesion between resin and reinforcing fibers in composite materials, and are difficult to blend with other components due to crosslinked structures, which hinders their effectiveness as adhesion improvers and sizing agents in carbon-fiber reinforced composites.
Innovation Solution
An epoxy-amine adduct with two or more amino groups per molecule, formed by reacting a specific epoxy compound with an amine compound, offering high reactivity and solubility, allowing for better adhesion and blending with resins, and used as a sizing agent to enhance workability and adhesiveness of carbon fibers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional epoxy-amine adducts are used as adhesion improvers, then they provide some adhesion between resin and fiber, but they lack sufficient reactivity due to masked active hydrogen, resulting in inadequate adhesion performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical structure parameters of the epoxy-amine adduct by specifying that the amine compound contains primary amino groups (-NH2) that remain unreacted or partially unreacted in the adduct structure. This structural parameter change ensures the presence of active hydrogen atoms that can form hydrogen bonds with fiber surfaces, thereby improving adhesion performance while maintaining sufficient reactivity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite functional structure where the epoxy-amine adduct combines both crosslinked network properties (from the epoxy-amine reaction) and hydrogen bonding capability (from unreacted primary amino groups). This composite material approach allows the adduct to simultaneously provide structural integrity through crosslinking and adhesion through hydrogen bonding with fiber surfaces
2Strength
If epoxy-amine adducts with crosslinked structures are used, then they provide structural integrity, but they are difficult to blend with other components such as thermoplastic resins, resulting in poor processability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial crosslinking by controlling the epoxy-to-amine ratio or reaction conditions so that not all functional groups react completely. This partial action leaves some unreacted functional groups that maintain molecular mobility and compatibility with other components, enabling better blending while still providing sufficient structural integrity from the crosslinked portions
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the molecular weight and crosslink density parameters of the epoxy-amine adduct to optimize both structural integrity and processability. By adjusting these parameters, the adduct maintains enough crosslinking for strength while preserving sufficient chain mobility for blending with thermoplastic resins and other components during processing
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The epoxy-amine adduct provides excellent adhesion between resin and reinforcing fibers, improves mechanical properties, and facilitates better workability and adhesiveness of carbon fibers, resulting in composite materials with enhanced heat resistance and productivity.
Implementation Method 1
an epoxy-amine adduct with two or more amino groups per molecule, formed by reacting a specific epoxy compound with an amine compound
Implementation Method 2
The sizing agent is applied as a paste or sizing material to a carbon fiber so as to improve workability in higher-order processing of the carbon fiber
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is an epoxy-amine adduct that offers high reactivity, contributes to better adhesion between a resin and a reinforcing fiber in a fiber-reinforced composite material, and can be easily blended with another component such as a resin. The epoxy-amine adduct has two or more amino groups per molecule and is obtained by a reaction of an epoxy compound (A) having two or more alicyclic epoxy groups per molecule with an amine compound (B) having two or more amino groups per molecule. The epoxy compound (A) is preferably a compound represented by Formula (a):