Applications of epoxy/rubber blends

Abstract

Epoxy resins have been used in a very wide range of industrial applications for more than half a century. Paints, adhesives, coatings, and matrix material for many different kinds of composites are the main applications of epoxy resins. Excellent adhesion properties along with high mechanical strength and thermal stability are the major attractions of this family of engineering materials. However, epoxy resins suffer from the inherent brittleness which can potentially limit their applications. Among different approaches which have been employed to reduce this deficiency, rubber toughening has been practiced the most. Different types of rubber modifiers which are blended with epoxy resins for this purpose include reactive oligomers, preformed rubber particles, and di- or tri-block copolymers. This chapter tries to give a general overview of the whole concept of rubber-toughened epoxies to the reader. Delivering a more realistic sense of industrial applications of epoxy/rubber and epoxy/copolymer blends by means of practical examples is done in this chapter as well. The goal is that the reader can benefit from this chapter in expectations from epoxy blends in practice. Engineers interested in epoxy resins may find insights in this chapter for their developing industrial/research plans.