Optimization of the Curing and Post-Curing Conditions for the Manufacturing of Partially Bio-Based Epoxy Resins with Improved Toughness

This research deals with the influence of different curing and post-curing temperatures on the mechanical and thermomechanical properties as well as the gel time of an epoxy resin prepared by the reaction of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with an amine hardener and a reactive diluent derived from plants at 31 wt %. The highest performance was obtained for the resins cured at moderate-to-high temperatures, that is, 80 [Formula: see text] and 90 [Formula: see text] , which additionally showed a significant reduction in the gel time. This effect was ascribed to the formation of a stronger polymer network by an extended cross-linking process of the polymer chains during the resin manufacturing. Furthermore, post-curing at either 125 [Formula: see text] or 150 [Formula: see text] yielded thermosets with higher mechanical strength and, more interestingly, improved toughness, particularly for the samples previously cured at moderate temperatures. In particular, the partially bio-based epoxy resin cured at 80 [Formula: see text] and post-cured at 150 [Formula: see text] for 1 h and 30 min, respectively, showed the most balanced performance due to the formation of a more homogeneous cross-linked structure.