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A novel approach to the tailoring of polymers for advanced composites and optical applications, involving the synthesis of liquid crystalline epoxy resins
Author(s) -
Giamberini Marta,
Amendola Eugenio,
Carfagna Cosimo
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.11443
Subject(s) - epoxy , materials science , composite material , polymer , composite epoxy material , liquid crystalline
The authors describe the features of liquid crystalline epoxy resins having both high and low crosslinking densities. These materials seem to be very promising as matrices in advanced composites and in optical and electro‐optical applications because of their peculiar properties. The importance of factors like molecular rigidity, nature of the curing agent, and curing temperature for the development of such properties are analyzed. The authors showed that amines produce thermosets having high T g s and high fracture toughness. In particular, the enhancement of this last parameter is very promising if a new generation of matrices is to be sought for manufacturing composites. In the case of acids as curing agents, thermosets having lower T g s and more ordered mesophases can be obtained. In this case, LC elastomers can be prepared that can find applications in the optical industry as waveguides or electro‐optical devices.