LAUSR

Abstract In this work, Polyetherketone cardo (PEK-C) was adopted to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of the typically commercial epoxy resin . The effects of PEK-C on the curing behaviors, the mechanical properties, the phase structures and the thermal properties of the epoxy resin were studied carefully. DSC analysis revealed that adding PEK-C into the epoxy resin facilitated the curing reaction by reducing the activation energy. In addition, the existence of the PEK-C also lowered the reacting enthalpy of the epoxy resin. The results of the mechanical properties of the cured PEK-C/epoxy composites indicated a 61%, 16%, 237% and 164% enhancement in tensile strength , flexural strength, impact strength and fracture toughness, respectively, which could be ascribed to the representative phase structures of the composites. Reaction induced phase separation was clearly observed in the PEK-C/epoxy composites during the curing of the epoxy resin, presenting uniformly dispersed particles, bicontinuous and phase inverted structures accompanied with the increase of the PEK-C content, as evident from the SEM images. The glass transition temperatures ( Tg) and decomposition temperatures were found to be enhanced obviously, hinting that the thermal stabilities of the epoxy resin were also distinctively improved due to the addition of PEK-C.