Training Presentation

On

Development of
Siliconized Epoxy Resins

Abstract
The present work involves the development of siliconized epoxy resin to
overcome the drawback of epoxy resin like poor impact strength, high
rigidity and moisture absorbing nature because of which they are not
applied as corrosion resistant coating. By embedding silicone into the
back bone of polymeric resin the above drawback can be reduced to
substantial level. For achieving this, epoxy resin is treated with silicone
resin in the presence Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). Cured moulds then
tested for tensile strength & impact strength. The siliconized epoxy
resins system was found to exhibit good thermal and anticorrosive
properties.

Need of such Resins

A novel coating of high performance polymeric material is a need of today. These
polymeric materials have superior mechanical, thermal and anticorrosive characteristics
ideally suitable for adverse environmental conditions.
Epoxy resins are widely used in protective coatings, adhesives, sealant, fiber reinforced
composites and electronic industry due to their outstanding surface properties like low
shrinkage, ease of cure and possessing good moisture, solvent and chemical resistance,
and excellent adhesion performances. They lack fracture resistance, impact strength,
low thermal stability, low pigment holding ability, flexibility and poor hydrophobicity,
which restrict their wide application in the field of coatings and paints. To improve these
properties the component like rubber, polyurethane silicone are added as modifier to
the epoxy resins.
Silicones are used in coating materials because of the improved water repellency,
improved thermal stability, resistance to oxidation, they retain physical properties over
a wide range of temperature, low toxicity, they impart unique flexibility to the backbone
chain and intrinsic surface active property.

Epoxy Resin

Polyepoxide, known commonly as epoxy is

athermosetting polymeris formed as a result
of reaction between anepoxideresin
withpolyamine"hardener".
The resin network has many desirable
properties which include high tensile strength,
excellent chemical and corrosion resistance
and good dimensional stability.
Commercial epoxy resins contain aliphatic,
cycloaliphatic or aromatic backbones.
Epoxy resins can be cured with either catalytic
or co-reactive curing agents who function as
initiators for epoxy ring- opening
homopolymerization.
Epoxy has a wide range of applications,
including metal coatings, use in electronics /
electrical components, high tension electrical
insulators,fiber-reinforced plasticmaterials

Among chemicals which have the potential to act as curing agents, primary and
secondary amines are the ones which are most commonly employed. Primary amine
functionality reacts with an epoxy group to produce a secondary amine and a secondary
alcohol. The secondary amine can further react with an epoxy group to form a tertiary
amine. Commercial hardeners generally consists of polyamine monomers, a typical
examplebeing triethylenetetramine (TETA). Each amine functionality can react with an
epoxide group, so that the resulting polymer is heavily cross linked, and results in a
formation of a rigid and strong structure. A reaction scheme representing the reaction
between the primary amine functionality of TETA with epoxy group is shown in figure.
This process is also referred to as
"curing", and can be controlled
through proper choice of
temperature, type of resin and
hardener, and the ratio of said
compounds. The curing process,
which is exothermic, can take
minutes to hours for completion.
Some formulations benefit from
heating during the cure period,
whereas others require time and

Silicone Resin
Silicone resins have a general formula of RnSiXmOy, where R is, usually Methyl or Phenyl, and X is
a functional group H, OH, Cl or OR. These groups are further condensed in many applications, to
give highly crosslinked, insoluble polysiloxane networks.
When R is a methyl group, there is a possibility of four types
of functional siloxane monomeric units:
"M" stands for Me3SiO,
"D" for Me2SiO2,
"T" for MeSiO3 and
"Q" for SiO4.
The most abundant silicone resins are built of D and T units
(DT resins) or from M and Q units (MQ resins), however
many other combinations (MDT, MTQ, QDT) are also used in
industry.
Silicones occupy a hybrid position between inorganic and
organic compounds, specifically between silicates and
organic polymers. The siloxane link (Si-O-Si), also found in
silicates, is responsible for the inorganic character. The
organic properties arise from the direct link between silicon

The composition and number of the structural units and the functional groups on the silicon atom
determine the structure, processing, and complex properties of the silicone resins. The properties
of the silicone resin such as Thermal stability, Weathering resistance, Maintaining elasticity at low
temperatures, low surface tension, hydrophobicity, surface activity are the important reason for its
wide application and commercial success.
Being elastomeric in nature these resins present an excellent candidature as blast resistant
retrofitting coatings. Moreover, siloxane coatings afford a promising alternative to traditional
organic polymer coatings (epoxy, polyurea, and polyurethane) as they possess superior corrosion
resistance, weathering characteristics, abrasion resistance, and thermal stability.

Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN)

Azobisisobutyronitrile(abbreviated AIBN) is
anorganic compoundwith
theformula[(CH3)2C(CN)]2N2. This white powder
is soluble in alcohols and common organic
solvents but is insoluble in water. It is often used
as a foamer inplasticsandrubberand as
aradical
initiator.
In its most
characteristic reaction, AIBNdecomposes, eliminating a molecule ofnitrogengas to
form two 2-cyanoprop-2-yl radicals as shown in figure. These radicals can initiatefree radical
polymerizationsand other radical-induced reactions. For instance, a mixture ofstyreneand
maleic anhydrideintoluenewill react if heated, forming thecopolymerupon addition of AIBN.

Mechanical Properties

The mechanical properties of a polymer involve its behavior under stress. These
properties play decisive role in the practical applications of polymers. Mechanical
properties provide answers to the questions of how strong or stiff a polymer is; whether it
is hard, soft, brittle or ductile; does it holds up well under repeated stress, etc. A brief
description of different mechanical properties and their process of measurement are as
follows :
1. Tensile Strength

Strength is the ability of a body to withstand load without breaking. Tensile strength is the
limiting stress at which a specimen fractures and is expressed in kgf/cm 2 . It is an important
property for polymers that are going to be stretched. Fibers, for instance, must have good
tensile strength.
There are three typical definitions of tensile strength:
Yield strength - Thestressa material can withstand
without permanentdeformation. This is not a sharply
defined point. Yield strength is the stress which will
cause a permanent deformation of 0.2% of the original
dimension.
Ultimate strength - The maximum stress a material
can withstand.
Breaking strength - The stress coordinate on

2. Elongation
Elongation is a type of deformation, which is simply a change in shape under stress. In the case of
tensile stress, the sample deforms by stretching and becomes longer, which is called elongation.
Generally it is expressed as percent elongation, which is l/L 0 100 where l is change in length
and L0 is the original length. Elongation may be ultimate or elastic. The ultimate elongation is the
strain on a sample when it breaks, which is known as elongation at break. Elastic elongation is the
percent of elongation that may be reached without permanently deforming the sample.
3. Tensile Modulus
Modulus is the capability of a polymer to resist deformation, which is the ratio of stress to
strain. It is also called the modulus of elasticity or Youngs modulus and is the slope of the
stress strain curve. In general, fibers have high Youngs modulus, elastomers have low values,
and plastics lie in between.
4. Toughness
Toughness is the measure of energy a sample can absorb before it breaks. It is the area under a
stress - strain curve. The area under the curve is proportional to the integral of the force over
the distance the polymer stretches before breaking.

The stress - strain properties are measured by a standard procedure. A dumbbell test piece
(following ASTM standards) is cut out with a die. Benchmarks one inch apart are placed on the
narrow portion. The test piece is then placed in the tensile testing machine (INSTRON tensile
tester) and stretched until it breaks.

5. Rebound
Rebound is a measure of the resilience of an elastomeric compound. The test is made by allowing a
weighted pendulum device to travel through a measured arch and to strike the polymer block. The
percentage rebound is read directly from a calibrated scale.

6. Abrasion Resistance
Abrasion is the process of wearing away the surface by friction. There are many devices to measure
abrasion resistance. In all cases, an abrasive material is rubbed against the surface of the stock.
Either volume loss is measured directly or the work required to produce a definite volume loss is
determined.
7. Permanent Set
The resistance of a crosslinked polymer to permanent deformation when subjected to a
compression stress is expressed by permanent set. The extent to which distortion becomes
permanent after subjecting a test piece to a known load between plates is known as compression
set. It is expressed as a percentage of the original thickness.
8. Creep
When a thermoplastic material is subjected to a constant load, the length of the thermoplastic bar
will continue to increase. This is called creep. Thermosets are more resistant to creep than

9. Hysteresis
When a crosslinked elastomer is deformed and released, mechanical energy is converted to
potential energy and then back. Part of this energy is converted to heat, which cannot be recovered.
The hysteresis is reported in F as the T or heat rise during the test.
10. Fatigue Strength
Plastics when subjected to cyclic loading are susceptible to brittle crack growth fracture at stress
levels well below their tensile and compression strength. The combination of tension and
compression is the most severe condition and the strength is known as fatigue strength.

INSTRON Tensile Tester

Instronis a manufacturer of test equipment designed to evaluate the mechanical
properties of materials and components, such asuniversal testing machines. Its used
to measure the ultimate tensile strength and to plot stress versus strain curve.
The Ultimate tensile strength is usually found by
performing atensile testand recording theengineering
stressversusstrain. The highest point of thestressstrain
curveis the UTS. It is anintensive property, therefore its
value does not depend on the size of the test specimen.
However, it is dependent on other factors, such as the
preparation of the specimen, the presence or otherwise of
surface defects, and the temperature of the test
environment and material.
Instron is applicable for tensile test but also for
Compressive strengthtesting, Fatiguetesting, Flexural
strengthtesting, Impact (drop-weight and
pendulum)testing, Heat Deflection Temperaturetesting

THE END