A Well-Defined Cyclotriphosphazene-Based Epoxy Monomer and Its Application as A Novel Epoxy Resin: Synthesis, Curing Behaviors, and Flame Retardancy

Abstract A novel cyclotriphosphazene-based epoxy monomer, hexa-[4-(glycidyloxycarbonyl) phenoxy]cyclotriphosphazene (HGCP), was synthesized via a four-step synthetic route, and fully characterized by 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Thermosetting systems based on HGCP with three curing agents, for example, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS), 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM), and dicyandiamide (DICY), were used for making a comparison of their thermal curing behaviors. The curing behaviors were measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Moreover, flame retardancy of HGCP thermosetting systems was estimated by Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) and Vertical Burning Test (UL-94). The resulting HGCP thermosetting systems exhibited better flame retardancy than the common epoxy resins diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and the regular brominated bisphenol A epoxy resin (TBBA) cured by DDS, respectively. When HGCP was cured by DDS, its thermosetting system gave the most char residues, met the UL-94 V-0 classification, and had a limiting oxygen index value greater than 35.