US 4,283,520 AGrant
Storage-Stable, Homogeneous Mixture Containing Epoxide Resin, Curing Agent and Curing Accelerator, and the Use of the Mixture for Producing Cured Products
Issue Date:1981-08-11
•13 Claims
Abstract
A mixture of (a) epoxide resin, (b) a cyanoacetyl compound of the formula ##STR1## wherein R is the radical of an alcohol or ether, and n is 1-4, as curing agent, and (c) a phenylurea derivative, such as monuron, as curing accelerator is characterized by good storage stability. The mixture can be used as casting resin, laminating resin, adhesive, surface-protective agent and moulding material, and the mixture yields, on being heated, cured products having homogeneous and good mechanical properties.
Metadata
Assignee
- Ciba-Geigy Corporation
Inventors
- Roland Moser
- Alfred Renner
Application Information
Application Number:US 1404032
Filing Date:1980-04-14
Priority Date:1979-04-20
Art Unit:143
Classifications
IPC:
C08G 5942C08G 5946
Field of Search:
52893;94;119;120;362
Patent Drawings
This patent does not have any drawings.
Description
The invention relates to a storage-stable, homogeneous mixture of epoxide resin, curing agent for use with it and curing accelerator, that is to say, a so-called "one-component system", which can also contain fillers. The invention relates also to the use of this mixture for producing cured products.
"One-component systems" consisting of epoxide resins, curing agents and optionally curing accelerators are known. Mixtures of epoxide resin and boron fluoride amine or boron chloride amine complexes are used in practice (see G.B. Patent Specification No. 1,346,769), also mixtures of epoxide resins as free as possible from hydroxyl groups, and cyclic dicarboxylic anhydrides and basic accelerators, such as benzyldimethylamine (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,132) or 1-methylimidazole (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,584). Also known are hot-curable homogeneous mixtures of epoxide resin and cyclic urea derivatives, such as ethylene urea, as storage-stable one-component systems (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,095).
As an alternative to the homogeneous systems, there are also used two-phase systems, whereby a curing agent which is difficultly soluble at room temperature and optionally an accelerator are dispersed in the epoxide resin, for example dispersions of dicyandiamide on its own or together with a monoaminopyridine (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,093), or with a urea derivative, such as monuron (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,956).
Furthermore, there are also known systems in which insoluble accelerators are added as finely dispersed as possible to homogeneous epoxide resin/curing agent mixtures wherein the curing agent is a polycarboxylic acid anhydride (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,604).
Finally, one-phase and two-phase combinations of epoxide resins, a curing agent based on acid anhydride, polyphenol or polyamine, and a phenylurea derivative, such as monuron, as accelerator are known from the G.B. Patent Nos. 1,153,639 and 1,260,896, as well as from the U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,914 and the German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,257,070. In the two last-mentioned publications, there is described for example the use of dicyandiamide or cyanacetamide.
The systems mentioned do have a certain degree of storage-stability, this being however inadequate for many applications of the mixtures. In the case of the poly-phase systems, there is the additional disadvantage that during storage or processing of the mixtures there can occur sedimentation of the undissolved particles of curing agent and/or accelerator, as a result of which the cured products are inhomogeneous and have poor mechanical properties.
It has now been found that a specific homogeneous mixture of epoxide resin, curing agent and accelerator gives hot-curable systems which have higher storage-stability with equally good reactivity, and which yield cured products having very suitable properties. The mixture according to the invention contains
(a) an epoxide resin having on average more than one epoxide group in the molecule,
(b) as a curing agent for the epoxide resin, a cyanoacetyl compound dissolved in the resin, which compound has a melting point (m.p.) below 120.degree. C. and corresponds to the formula I ##STR2## wherein R is the radical of a mono- to tetravalent alcohol or amine having a partial molecular weight of .ltoreq.2000, which radical is formed by removal of 1 to 4 hydroxyl hydrogen atoms or amine hydrogen atoms, and n is a number from 1 to 4 inclusive, the amount of (b) being such that to 1--CH.sub.2 --C.tbd.N group there are 3-4 epoxide groups of the component (a), and
(c) as a curing accelerator, to 100 parts by weight of epoxide resin 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a phenylurea derivative of the formula II ##STR3## in which Z is the group ##STR4## wherein A is --CH.sub.2 -- or N, p is 0, 1 or 2, and q is 1 or 2, and R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 independently of one another are each an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and wherein R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 independently of one another are each hydrogen, halogen, alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkoxy having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl or phenoxy group, and R.sub.5 is hydrogen, trifluoromethyl, nitro or one of the groups ##STR5##
Suitable epoxide resins (a) are in particular the known liquid aliphatic, aromatic and heterocyclic polyepoxides, preferably those based on polyvalent phenols, such as bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,2-propane or 4,4'-dihydroxydiphenylmethane (bisphenol A or F), on polyvalent aliphatic alcohols or aromatic mono- or polyamines, such as amonophenols. Particularly preferred are liquid unmodified epoxide resins based on bisphenol-A, for example those having an epoxide content of 5.4 equivalents per kg and a viscosity of about 10500 mPa s at 25.degree. C.
Especially suitable cyanoacetyl compounds (b) are those of the formula I wherein n is the number 1 or 2. The following compounds may for example be mentioned:
The cyanoacetyl compounds A and B are particularly preferred.
Higher molecular cyanoacetic acid derivatives can correspond to the formula III ##STR27## wherein Y is a radical of glycol, for example of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butanediol-1,4, hexanediol-1,6, and so forth, and Y' is a dicarboxylic acid radical, for example phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, adipic acid, and so forth, and m is a number from 2 to 20 inclusive.
The higher-molecular cyanoacetyl compounds (b) are produced, using known processes, by obtaining (either in the melt or in solution with azeotropic removal of the water formed during the reaction) from dicarboxylic acids or anhydrides thereof and excess glycols firstly polyesters having terminal hydroxyl groups, and subsequently reacting these with cyanoacetic acid or with ethyl or methyl esters thereof, in the manner already described for the production of cyanoacetic esters of higher and polyvalent alcohols.
Suitable phenylureas (c) are preferably those of the formula II in which Z is the group ##STR28## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 independently of one another are each the methyl or ethyl group, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 independently of one another are each hydrogen, halogen alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or alkoxy having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and R.sub.5 is hydrogen or trifluoromethyl. N-p-trifluoromethylphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea is preferred, and N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea (=monuron) and N-p-ethyloxyphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea are particularly preferred. This component is preferably used in an amount of 0.1 to 5 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight of epoxide resin.
The mixture according to the invention can be produced by simply bringing the components together and carefully heating the materials until the accelerator dissolves. If the epoxide resin is solid, it is temporarily heated until melted, and the curing agent and the accelerator are dissolved therein.
It is possible to add to the mixture also fillers, extenders, reinforcing agents, pigments and other additives customary for the respective application, for example minerals, wood flour, glass fibres, carbon fibres or boron fibres, polyamides, polyesters, carbon black and metal oxides.
The mixtures can be used in the widest variety of commercial fields, for example as casting resins (also filled with mineral substances), laminating resins, adhesives, preparations for surface protection and, with the use of solid epoxide resins, also as moulding materials. They are preferably used as casting resins, laminating resins and adhesives. Cured products can be produced by heating mixtures according to the invention to a temperature of above 100.degree. C.
It is surprising that the cyanoacetic acid derivatives of the formula I are effective as curing agents, and that the storage stability of a mixture of 3 components is in some cases even better that that of the known mixtures of epoxide resin and monuron.
PRODUCTION OF THE CYANOACETYL COMPOUNDS USED IN THE EXAMPLES
A: Neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic acid ester
In a flask provided with stirrer, Hahn head, reflux condenser and thermometer, 714 parts of cyanoacetic acid, 416 parts of neopentyl glycol and 1200 parts of toluene are heated to boiling. The water formed during esterification is separated in the Hahn head, and the toluene returns to the reaction vessel. After 12 hours of azeotropic esterification, 134 parts by volume of water are collected. The toluene is afterwards distilled off in vacuo, and the residue is fractionated at 13.3 Pa. Between 165.degree. and 181.degree. C., 729 parts (76.5% of theory) of pure neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic acid ester having the following elementary composition pass over:
B: Cyanoacetic acid-N-isobutylamide
452 parts of cyanoacetic acid ethyl ester and 306 parts of isobutylamine are reacted for 6 hours at 35.degree..+-.3.degree. C. The alcohol formed during the amidation reaction is afterwards drawn off at 80.degree. C. in vacuo in a rotary evaporator, and the residue is rectified.
b.p..sub.0.3 =126.degree.-132.degree. C.; yield: 436 parts (95% of theory).
Both products (A and B) crystallise after standing for some time: m.p. about 40.degree. C.
The compounds C to F inclusive are produced in a similar manner by azeotropically esterifying cyanoacetic acid with hexanediol in the case of C, and cyanoacetic acid with 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol in the case of D; E is produced by reacting bisphenol A-di-hydroxyethyl ether, in the presence of catalytic amounts of butyl titanate, with cyanoacetic ester; and F is produced in a known manner.
The production of the phenylurea derivatives used as accelerators is known. Reference may be made for example to the G.B. Pat. Nos. 1,153,639 and 1,293,142, and to the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,386,956 and 3,759,914.
COMMENTS REGARDING THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES
(a) General instruction for producing the mixtures
Epoxide resin, curing agent component and optionally accelerator are mixed, in the respective proportions shown in the Tables, at room temperature or if necessary at slightly elevated temperature (40 to a maximum of 80.degree. C.), and are stirred until a clear homogeneous solution is obtained. The mixing of the components can be carried out in the given sequence or in any other possible sequence.
(b) For determination of the storage-stability of the mixtures, a portion thereof is stored at 25.degree. C. in sealed glass flasks, and from time to time the viscosity is measured (Hoeppler scleroscope hardness test method). The mixtures are considered no longer usable when the viscosity on storage has more than doubled, or when--in the case of in general very low-viscous mixtures--a viscosity of 20,000 mPa at 25.degree. C. is exceeded.
(c) For determination of reactivity there is used as a criterion the measurement of the gelling time at various temperatures. A drop of the mixture to be tested is applied to the centre of a hot plate adjusted to the desired temperature, and the time until gelling of the specimen occurs is determined.
(d) Determination of the moulded-material properties and film properties
For this purpose, there are firstly cast, in aluminium moulds, moulded-material sheets having the dimensions 130.times.130.times.4 mm, which are then cured under the conditions given in the Tables, and subsequently broken down into test specimens 60.times.10.times.4 mm in size for determination of the most important mechanical properties according to the (VSM) standard of the Association of Swiss Machine Manufacturers. A test piece taken from a specimen of this kind serves also for the calorimetric determination of the glass transition temperature (GTT) by means of differential thermoanalysis. The GTT enables conclusions to be drawn regarding the dimensional stability under heat to be expected. A remaining portion of the mixtures can be used finally to bond test strips of Anticorodal B (dimensions 170.times.25.times.1.5 mm) with a 12 mm overlap, and to coat cleaned strips of sheet iron, using a triangular blade, with a 50 .mu.m thick layer. The test specimens thus obtained for determining the adhesive properties (tensile strength) are also cured under the conditions shown in the Tables.
EXAMPLE 1
The Example illustrates the effect of increasing amounts of N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea on a combination consisting of a liquid unmodified epoxide resin from bisphenol A and neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester as curing agent.
The results obtained from the determination of the gelling time and of storage-stability are summarised in Table Ia. They show that the gelling time at elevated temperature can be very greatly reduced by the addition of N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea (monuron) as accelerator, without this reduction at the same time being associated with any marked shortening of storage-stability. The storage-stability is in this case surprisingly even better than that with a combination of a diglycidyl compound based on bisphenol-A and the accelerator alone, without the addition of neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester.
Table 1b shows the effectiveness of the accelerator on the basis of the properties of moulded materials and films. Without accelerator, no usable moulded materials are obtained after a curing time of 12 hours at 120.degree. C., whereas both with 2 and with 5 parts by weight of accelerator to 100 parts by weight of epoxide resin, the moulded materials and films have favourable properties.
Table 1c illustrates that a combination of unmodified epoxide resin from bisphenol-A and a curing agent/accelerator mixture according to the invention has excellent storage-stability also when in solution.
Accordingly, the combination according to the invention renders possible the formulation of storage-stable one-component systems which at elevated temperature have, compared with the formulation without accelerator, the advantage of a greatly reduced gelling time, and which moreover can be cured at a lower temperature and/or in a shorter time.
Mention may be made by way of comparison that with the use of customary accelerators, such as benzyldimethylamine and 1-methylimidazole, the storage-stability is considerably lower, even when using smaller amounts of accelerator, which are also selected that the gelling time at 180.degree. C. is approximately equally long and corresponds to that using an amount of 2 phr of monuron.
EXAMPLE 1A
It is shown in Table 1A that also other epoxide resins can be used in place of the liquid unmodified epoxide resin based on bisphenol-A without losing the high storage stability. The cyanoacetyl compound used was neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester, and the accelerator used was monuron. ##STR29##
EXAMPLE 2
Instead of neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester, the curing agent used is in this case cyanoacetic acid-N-isobutylamide. With this relatively low-melting and readily soluble cyanoacetic acid derivative too, there is obtained, together with N-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea as accelerator, a favourable reactivity/storage stability ratio and, after curing, a favorable pattern of properties in moulded materials and films is shown. The corresponding test results are summarised in the Tables 2a and 2b.
It has been demonstrates by way of comparison that with use of compounds customarily used as accelerators, such as benzyldimethylamine and 1-methylimidazole, the storage stability is considerably lower. For comparison, there are used amounts of accelerator which, with regard to the gelling time at 180.degree. C., correspond to the amount of 2 phr of monuron:
EXAMPLE 3
N-p-Chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea as accelerator, in combination with a whole series of cyanoacetic acid derivatives used as curing agents, results in a very favourable ratio between gelling time at elevated temperature and long storage stability at room temperature. The most important data are summarised in Table 3a.
The systems have very high storage stability also in combination with solvent (see Table 3b).
EXAMPLE 4
Using a combination of a liquid unmodified bisphenol-A epoxide resin and neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester as well as a combination of the same resin and cyanoacetic acid-N-isobutylamide, it is shown (Table 4) that the N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea used as accelerator in the preceding Examples can be readily replaced by N-p-ethoxyphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea (comparative values: see Tables 1a and 1b, as well as Tables 2a and 2b),
EXAMPLE 5
The Tables 5a and 5b show the effect of different accelerators, of which the amount in the mixture corresponds to the content of tertiary nitrogen of 2 parts by weight of monuron (see the corresponding values in the Tables 1a and 2a). The employed epoxide resin corresponds to that used in Example 1. The following monuron-similar compounds are used as accelerators:
EXAMPLE 6
In Table 6 are compared three formulations, with regard to gelling time at elevated temperature, storage stability at room temperature and appearance of moulded materials produced therewith, with known combinations which are all based on the same liquid unmodified epoxide resin from bisphenol-A, and which are designated as being storage-stable one-component systems or formulations having a very long service life.
Compared with the combination cured with a BF.sub.3 ethylamine complex, the formulations according to the invention are distinguished by a viscosity which is advantageously lower for many applications, and by better storage stability. The initial viscosity is likewise clearly reduced compared with that of the formulation with a BCl.sub.3 amine complex. The use of liquid methyltetrahydrophthalic acid anhydride as curing agent and benzyldimethylamine as accelerator does mean a somewhat lower initial viscosity, but the storage stability is completely inadequate for use as a one-component system. When the benzyldimethylamine is replaced with monuron, the storage stability is indeed improved; however, the moulded materials after curing exhibit fine blistering. Such inhomogeneity impairs the mechanical properties and prevents the application of the moulded materials as electrical insulating material in high-voltage systems.
Finally, if the curing agent components according to the invention are replaced with cyanoacetamide, the temperature has to be raised to about 100.degree. C. in the production of the resin/curing agent/accelerator mixture in order to get the curing agent component into solution. On cooling, cyanoacetamide is already precipitating at 90.degree. C.; it is therefore not possible to obtain with cyanoacetamide a one-component system which is homogeneous at room temperature. The insolubility of the curing agent accordingly leads to difficulties similar to those already described for combinations of epoxide resin, dicyanodiamide and for example monuron: the curing agent on storage and during the curing process precipitates to a greater or lesser degree, which again results in inhomogeneous moulded materials having inadequate properties.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A homogeneous mixture of epoxide resin, curing agent for the resin, and curing accelerator, which mixture contains (a) an epoxide resin having on average more than one epoxide group in the molecule, (b) as curing agent for the epoxide resin, a cyanoacetyl compound dissolved in the resin, which compound has a melting point (m.p.) below 120.degree. C. and corresponds to the formula I ##STR42## wherein R is the radical of a mono- to tetravalent alcohol or amine having a partial molecular weight of .ltoreq.2000, which radical is formed by removal of 1 to 4 hydroxyl hydrogen atoms or amine hydrogen atoms, and n is a number from 1 to 4 inclusive, the amount of (b) being such that to 1 --CH.sub.2 --C.tbd.N group there are 3-4 epoxide groups of the component (a), and (c) as curing accelerator, to 100 parts by weight of epoxide resin 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a phenylurea derivative of the formula II ##STR43## in which Z is the group ##STR44## wherein A is --CH.sub.2 -- or N, p is 0, 1 or 2, and q is 1 or 2, and R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 independently of one another are each an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and wherein R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 independently of one another are each hydrogen, halogen, alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkoxy having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl or phenoxy group, and R.sub.5 is hydrogen, trifluoromethyl, nitro or one of the groups ##STR45##
2. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains a liquid epoxide resin as component (a).
3. A mixture according to claim 2, which contains an epoxide resin based on bisphenol A or F, on a polyvalent aliphatic alcohol or on an aromatic mono- or polyamine.
4. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains as component (b) a compound of the formula I wherein n is the number 1 or 2.
5. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains as component (c) 0.1 to 5 parts by weight of a compound of the formula II wherein Z is the group ##STR46## R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 independently of one another are each methyl or ethyl, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 independently of one another are hydrogen, halogen, alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or alkoxy having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and R.sub.5 is hydrogen or trifluoromethyl.
6. A mixture according to claim 5, which contains as component (c) N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea, N-p-ethyloxyphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea or N-p-trifluoromethylphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea.
7. A mixture according to claim 5, which contains as component (c) N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea or N-p-ethyloxyphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea.
8. A mixture according to claim 4, which contains as component (b) neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic acid ester or cyanoacetic acid-N-isobutylamide.
9. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains an unmodified epoxide resin based on bisphenol-A as component (a), neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester as component (b) and N-p-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea as component (c).
10. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains an unmodified epoxide resin based on bisphenol-A as component (a), neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester as component (b), and N-p-ethyloxyphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea as component (c).
11. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains an unmodified epoxide resin based on bisphenol-A as component (a), neopentyl glycol-bis-cyanoacetic ester as component (b), and N-p-trifluoromethylphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea as component (c).
12. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains an unmodified epoxide resin based on bisphenol-A as component (a), cyanoacetic acid-N-isobutylamide as component (b), and N-chlorophenyl-N',N'-dimethylamide as component (c).
13. A mixture according to claim 1, which contains an unmodified epoxide resin based on bisphenol-A as component (a), cyanoacetic acid-N-isobutylamide as component (b), and N-p-ethyloxyphenyl-N',N'-dimethylurea as component (c).
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