Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, Vol.8, No.5, 357-361, 2001
Epoxy/resole blends - A study of its degradation kinetics
The degradation kinetics of blends of resole with epoxy resin, having different weight ratios, has been studied by dynamic thermogravimetric analysis in nitrogen atmosphere at a heating rate of 15 degreesC/min. These blends were prepared by physical mixing and were cured with 40% polyamide (based on blend resin and polyamide). The degradation of each sample followed 0.67(th) order degradation kinetics, which was calculated by Coats and Redfern equation using best-fit analysis. This was further confirmed by linear regression analysis. The validity of data was checked by t-test statistical analysis. From this value of reaction order, activation energy (E) and pre-exponential factor (Z) were calculated. It was found that the activation energy increased while pre-exponential factor decreased as the resole content in the blend decreased from 100 to zero weight percent.