Cure Behavior of a Furan-Based Epoxy-Amine Thermosetting System for Liquid Molding Applications

This study investigates the cure behavior of a fully furan-based epoxy-amine network in an effort to help guide the process of preparing composites using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process (VARTM). The resin system was cured stoichiometrically at room temperature, 60°C and 80°C. Gelation and vitrification times were obtained using NIR spectroscopy and oscillatory isothermal rheology measurements. A Time-Temperature-Transformation isothermal cure diagram was constructed to summarize these data. The furan-based system possesses a favorable processing window for VARTM. In particular, the viscosity of the system remains below 1000 cp for the first 2.4 h of isothermal room temperature cure, and gelation does not appear to occur at this temperature because it is preceded by vitrification.