Micro- and Nanostructured Epoxy/Rubber Blends -- Contents -- Preface -- List of Contributors -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Epoxy Resin - Introduction -- 1.2 Cure Reactions -- 1.3 Curing Agents -- 1.3.1 Catalytic Cure -- 1.3.2 Co-reactive Cure -- 1.3.2.1 Primary and Secondary Amines -- 1.3.2.2 Mercaptans -- 1.3.2.3 Isocyanates -- 1.3.2.4 Carboxylic Acids -- 1.3.2.5 Acid Anhydrides -- 1.4 Different Curing Methods -- 1.4.1 Thermal Curing -- 1.4.2 Microwave Curing -- 1.4.3 Radiation Curing -- 1.4.3.1 Electron Beam Curing -- 1.4.3.2 Gamma Ray Irradiation -- 1.5 Curing of Epoxy Resins: Structure-Property Relationship -- 1.6 Toughening of Epoxy Resin -- 1.6.1 Different Toughening Agents -- 1.6.1.1 Liquid Elastomers for Toughening Epoxy Matrices -- 1.6.1.2 Rigid Crystalline Polymers -- 1.6.1.3 Hygrothermal Toughening Agents -- 1.6.1.4 Core-Shell Particles -- 1.6.1.5 Nanoparticles for Epoxy Toughening -- 1.6.1.6 Thermoplastic Modification of Epoxy Resin -- 1.6.1.7 Block Copolymers as Modifiers for Epoxy Resin -- 1.7 Rubber-Modified Epoxy Resin: Factors Influencing Toughening -- 1.7.1 Concentration Effects -- 1.7.2 Particle Size and Distribution of Rubber -- 1.7.3 Effect of Temperature -- 1.7.4 Effect of Rubber -- 1.7.5 Interfacial Adhesion -- 1.8 Toughening Mechanisms in Elastomer-Modified Epoxy Resins -- 1.8.1 Particle Deformation -- 1.8.2 Shear Yielding -- 1.8.3 Crazing -- 1.8.4 Simultaneous Shear Yielding and Crazing -- 1.8.5 Crack Pinning -- 1.8.6 Cavitation and Rumples -- 1.9 Quantitative Assessment of Toughening Mechanisms -- 1.10 Introduction of Chapters -- References -- Chapter 2 Liquid Rubbers as Toughening Agents -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Toughening of Thermoset Resins -- 2.3 Fracture Behavior of Rubber-Toughened Thermosets -- 2.4 Natural Rubbers -- 2.4.1 Preparation Method of LNR.

2.4.1.1 Oxidation in the Presence of Redox System -- 2.4.1.2 Oxidation by Photochemical Method -- 2.4.1.3 Oxidation at High Temperatures and High Pressures -- 2.4.1.4 Oxidation by Cleavage Reagent Specific to Double Bonds -- 2.4.1.5 Metathesis Degradation -- 2.5 Liquid-Toughening Rubber in Thermoset Resins -- 2.6 Concluding Remarks -- References -- Chapter 3 Nanostructured Epoxy Composites -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Preparation Methods of the Nanostructured Epoxy Thermoset -- 3.3 Morphology of the Nanostructured Epoxy Thermoset -- 3.3.1 Parameters Controlling the Morphologies -- 3.3.1.1 Blends Composition -- 3.3.1.2 The Choice of Curing Agent -- 3.3.1.3 Topological Architecture of the Copolymer -- 3.4 Microphase Separation Mechanism -- 3.4.1 Self-Assembly Mechanism -- 3.4.2 Reaction-Induced Microphase Separation Mechanism -- 3.5 Mechanical and Thermal Properties -- 3.5.1 Fracture Toughness -- 3.5.2 Glass Transition Temperature -- 3.6 Conclusions and Outlooks -- References -- Chapter 4 Manufacture of Epoxy Resin/Liquid Rubber Blends -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Comparison of Hardeners -- 4.3 Rubber-Toughened Epoxy Resins -- 4.4 Cure Reaction Analysis -- 4.5 Conclusions -- References -- Chapter 5 Cure and Cure Kinetics of Epoxy-Rubber Systems -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Cure Analysis -- 5.3 Curing Kinetics -- 5.3.1 Kinetics Analysis -- 5.3.2 Autocatalytic Model -- 5.3.3 Activation Energies -- 5.3.3.1 Dynamic Kinetics Methods -- 5.3.3.2 Isothermal Methods -- 5.4 Diffusion Factor -- 5.5 Differential Scanning Calorimetry -- 5.5.1 Dynamic DSC -- 5.5.2 Isothermal DSC -- 5.6 FTIR Spectroscopy -- 5.7 Dielectric Spectroscopy Thermal Method -- 5.8 Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) Method -- 5.9 Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and Rheological Methods -- 5.10 Conclusions -- Acknowledgments -- References.

Chapter 6 Theoretical Modeling of the Curing Process -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Modeling of the Curing Kinetics -- 6.2.1 Mechanistic Approach -- 6.2.2 Phenomenological Models Describing the Reaction -- 6.2.2.1 nth-Order Model -- 6.2.2.2 Autocatalytic Model -- 6.2.2.3 Kamal and Sourour Model -- 6.2.2.4 Bailleul Model -- 6.2.3 Rheological Models -- 6.2.3.1 Gel Time Model -- 6.2.3.2 Viscosity Model -- 6.2.4 Effect of Vitrification (Tg) on the Reaction Rate -- 6.3 Applications of the Empirical Models -- 6.4 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 7 Phase-Separation Mechanism in Epoxy Resin/Rubber Blends -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Thermodynamics of Phase Separation -- 7.2.1 Nucleation and Growth Mechanism -- 7.2.2 Spinodal Decomposition -- 7.3 Phase Separation in Uncured Epoxy Resin/Liquid Rubber Blends -- 7.4 Phase-Separation Mechanism in Cured Blends -- 7.5 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 8 Morphology Analysis by Microscopy Techniques and Light Scattering -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Developments of Morphology Analysis in Rubber-Modified Epoxies -- 8.2.1 Optical Microscopy (OM) -- 8.2.2 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) -- 8.2.3 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) -- 8.2.4 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) -- 8.2.5 Small-Angle Light Scattering (SALS) -- 8.3 Different Types of Morphologies -- 8.3.1 Phase-Separation Morphology of Epoxy/Rubbers Blends -- 8.3.2 Morphology of Hybrids -- 8.3.3 Homogeneous Morphology -- 8.4 Morphology of Toughening and Reinforcing Effects -- 8.4.1 Conventional Additives -- 8.4.2 Hyperbranched Polymers -- 8.5 Conclusions -- Acknowledgments -- References -- Chapter 9 Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) Analysis -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Generalities on the Behavior of the Polymers -- 9.3 Measurement Techniques -- 9.4 PvT Measures on Epoxies -- References.

Chapter 10 Rheology of Rubber-Toughened Structural Epoxy Resin Systems -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Epoxy Resin Chemistry -- 10.2.1 Basic Epoxy Chemical Reactions -- 10.2.2 Kinetics of Cure -- 10.2.3 Epoxy Reactivity -- 10.3 Modeling of the Cure Process -- 10.4 Rheological Implication of Differences in Reactivity -- 10.4.1 Modeling Rheological Behavior -- 10.4.2 Connection between Rheology and Cure -- 10.5 Rheological Studies of Cure -- 10.6 Toughened Epoxy Resins -- 10.6.1 Carboxy-Terminated Butadiene Acrylonitrile (CTBN) -- 10.6.2 Polyethersulfone (PES) -- 10.6.3 Nano Clay Toughening of Epoxy Resins -- 10.6.4 Toughening with Nano Carbon and Silica Nano Particles -- 10.6.5 Plasticization -- 10.7 Concluding Comments -- Acknowledgments -- References -- Chapter 11 Viscoelastic Measurements and Properties of Rubber-Modified Epoxies -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.1.1 State Transitions from Liquid to Solid -- 11.1.2 Viscoelasticity of Cured Materials -- 11.2 Viscoelastic Behavior Below and Near Gel Point -- 11.2.1 Liquid-Rubber-Modified Epoxies -- 11.2.2 Core-Shell Rubber-Modified Epoxies -- 11.2.3 Ternary Systems with Fillers -- 11.3 Viscoelasticity of Cured Materials -- 11.3.1 Dynamic Mechanical Study -- 11.3.2 Dielectric Measurement -- 11.4 Other Remarks -- 11.5 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 12 Light, X-ray, and Neutron Scattering Techniques for Miscibility and Phase Behavior Studies in Polymer Blends -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Brief Theoretical Considerations of Scattering -- 12.3 Light Scattering Experiment -- 12.4 X-ray Scattering -- 12.5 Neutron Scattering -- 12.5.1 Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) -- 12.6 Conclusions and Future Outlook -- Acknowledgments -- References -- Chapter 13 Mechanical Properties -- 13.1 Introduction.

13.2 Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Rubber-Modified Epoxies -- 13.2.1 Influence of Rubber Concentration -- 13.2.2 Influence of Initial Cure Temperature -- 13.2.3 Influence of Curing Agent -- 13.2.4 Influence of Acrylonitrile Content -- 13.2.5 Influence of Strain Rate -- 13.2.6 Kerner Equation -- 13.3 Fracture Toughness -- 13.3.1 Effect of Concentration on Fracture Toughness -- 13.3.2 Effect of Strain Rate on Fracture Toughness -- 13.3.3 Effect of Curing Agent on Fracture Toughness -- 13.4 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 14 Thermal Properties -- 14.1 Specific Heat -- 14.2 Thermal Conductivity -- 14.2.1 Main Methods of Characterization -- 14.2.1.1 Thermal Steady-State Methods -- 14.2.1.2 Thermal Transient Methods -- 14.2.2 Classical Model to Describe Thermal Conductivity as a Function of Temperature and Degree of Cure -- 14.3 Thermogravimetric Analysis of Rubber/Epoxy Systems -- 14.4 Kinetic Study from TGA -- References -- Chapter 15 Dielectric Properties of Elastomeric Modified Epoxies -- 15.1 Introduction -- 15.2 Dielectric Study in Rubber/Epoxy Systems -- 15.2.1 Dielectric Constant (ε) -- 15.2.2 Volume Resistivity (VR) -- 15.2.3 Conductivity (σ) -- 15.2.4 Combined Studies on Dielectric Constant, Volume Resistivity, and Conductivity -- 15.3 Summary -- References -- Chapter 16 Spectroscopy Analysis of Micro/Nanostructured Epoxy/Rubber Blends -- 16.1 Introduction -- 16.2 Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman Spectroscopy -- 16.2.1 DGEBA Epoxy/Rubber Blends -- 16.2.2 Other Epoxy/Rubber Blends -- 16.2.3 FTIR Image and Raman Spectroscopy -- 16.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) -- 16.3.1 Acid-Terminated Rubber/DGEBA Epoxy Blends -- 16.3.2 Hydroxyl-Terminated Rubber/DGEBA Epoxy Blends -- 16.3.3 Neutral Rubber/DGEBA Epoxy Blends.

16.3.4 Other Type Epoxy/Rubber Blends.