Effect of reactive and non-reactive diluents on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy resin

The effect of reactive (polyethylene glycol) and non-reactive (toluene) diluents on thermal and mechanical properties (tensile strength, hardness and fracture toughness) of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin (cured by triethylenetetramine) was investigated. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of the epoxy resin modified with reactive and non-reactive diluents at different wt% were investigated using thermo-gravimetric analyser, tensile test, hardness test and single-edge-notched bend test. A minor variation in thermal stability was observed for epoxy resin after addition of polyethylene glycol and toluene at 0.5 wt%; however, further addition of reactive and non-reactive diluents diminished the thermal stability. The addition of 10 wt% of polyethylene glycol in epoxy resin significantly enhances the tensile strength (similar to 12%), hardness (similar to 14%) and fracture toughness (similar to 24%) when compared to that of neat epoxy resin. In contrast, major drop in mechanical performance was observed after addition of toluene in epoxy. Furthermore, fracture surfaces were investigated under field emission scanning electron microscope to elucidate the failure mechanism.