On the formation of liquid crystalline texture in epoxy resins

摘要

AbstractThree epoxy resins and two curing agents were studied in their monomeric as well as polymeric states. Two monomers were monotropic liquid crystals. Characterization of liquid crystallinity before, during and after curing reaction was carried out by DSC, optical microscopy and WAXS. It was found that LC texture develops in every epoxy/(curing agent) system studied in this work. Nucleation and growth is a physical mechanism for the formation of initial liquid crystallinity. The final texture is not well defined and likely contains nematic, poorly ordered smectic and isotropic phases. Schematic diagram of the possible states of LCTs is discussed.