Recyclable epoxy resins with different silyl ether structures: structure–property relationships and applications in diverse functional composites

In this work, three liquid silyl ether-containing cycloaliphatic epoxides (CESI1, CESI2 and CESI3) with different numbers of pendent phenyl groups were synthesized and cured by methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride. The high glass transition temperatures of the cured epoxy resins range from 150 to 184 °C, which increase with the increasing number of pendent phenyl groups. However, the tensile strengths of the cured epoxy resins decrease as the number of pendent phenyl groups increase. Incorporating dynamic silyl ether bonds enables the cured epoxy resins to be reprocessable and degradable. It is demonstrated that the pendent phenyl groups have a significant impact on the dynamic behaviors and degradation rates of cured epoxy resins. The reprocessing efficiencies and degradation rates of the three epoxy resins monotonously decrease with increasing the number of pendent phenyl groups. Finally, the CESI1 resin with the lowest viscosity was used as the polymer matrix for carbon fiber reinforced composites, electromagnetic wave absorbing coatings and silver-filled conductive adhesives. Notably, non-destructive recovery of carbon fibers, ferromagnetic particles and silver flakes can be achieved through the degradation of the epoxy matrix.