Rational design and synthesis of a novel LCE material and its curing behaviours. Issue 12 (26th September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Wenqing; Li, Zeyu; Zhang, Baoyan
• Is Part Of: Liquid crystals. Volume 48:Issue 12(2021)
• Page Start: 1723
• Page End: 1732
• Publication Date: 2021-09-26
• Subjects: Composite -- liquid crystalline epoxy (LCE) -- thermal property -- curing behaviour; Liquid crystals -- Periodicals; 548.905
• DOI: 10.1080/02678292.2021.1900430
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0267-8292

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Two triaromatic liquid crystalline epoxy monomers (LCEMs) containing different lengths of spacer units terminated with epoxy groups were synthesised to investigate the effect of spacer unit on the properties of liquid crystalline epoxy resins (LCERs). Their chemical structures were characterised by FT-IR and 1 HNMR, and the liquid crystalline (LC) behaviour was studied by using DSC and POM. After curing with three different aromatic amines, the LC properties of the cured products were investigated by using DSC, WAXD and POM. The effects of curing agents on the formation of LC networks were also studied. The monomer cured with the selected curing agent yielded a highly ordered mesomorphic region in the network. Flexible spacers are found to significantly decrease the melting point of epoxy monomer and to promote the curing reaction occurs at the LC state. Graphical abstract: uf0001