Synthesis, characterization, thermal and flame-retardant properties of silicon-based epoxy resins

A new silicon-containing oxirane triglycidyl phenyl silane oxide (TGPSO) and its corresponding silicon-containing epoxy resins are synthesized and characterized. The activation energies of TGPSO curing reaction with various curing agents, including 4,4-diaminodiphenylmethane, 4,4-diaminodiphenylsulfone, and dicyanodiaminde, are found to be 180, 196.5, and 154 kJ/mol. The curing reaction of TGPSO with diamines is determined to be a first-order reaction through means of Arrhenius plots. The introduction of the silicon-containing group results in higher curing reactivity. This silicon-containing resin possesses higher char yield as well as higher limiting oxygen index (LOI = 35) than the commercial epoxy resins, confirming the usefulness of these silicon-containing epoxy resins as flame retardants. Char yields and LOI measurements demonstrate that incorporating silicon into epoxy resins is able to improve their flame retardancy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 1231–1238, 1999