Effects of tertiary amine accelerators on curing of epoxide resins

Abstract The effects of seven tertiary amine accelerators on curing of bisphenol‐type epoxide resins using azelaic acid as a curing agent have been investigated. The structure of the cured resins is characterized and reaction and structure schemes are proposed. The reaction mechanism and the resulting structure of the resin depend on the basicity of the accelerator. With increasing accelerator basicity crosslinking in the cured resin increases. Characterization results indicate that the network structure consists of ether bonds or a mixture of ether and ester bonds; the linear structure consists of only ester bonds. The structure and, therefore, the properties of the cured epoxide resin may thus be regulated by selection of the amine basicity.