• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.162-168
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• 2024

The effect of maleinized polybutadiene (MPB) on the mechanical properties of epoxy resins including adhesion strength, elongation and impact peel resistance was investigated in this study, in which MPB is an anhydride-functionalized polybutadiene prepolymer. Different molecular weights (3.1K and 5.6K) of MPB were added to diglycidyl ether bisphenol-A (DEGBA), an epoxy resin, to increase its impact peel strength and elongation. At various loading percent (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt%) of MPB in the epoxy resin, significant improvements of mechanical properties were observed. According to the comparative analysis results, the modified epoxy system with 15 wt% (3.1K) MPB exhibited the highest lap shear strength, about 40% higher than that of neat epoxy. The tensile strength and elongation steadily and simultaneously increased as the loading percent of MPB increased. The impact peel strengths at low (-40℃) and room (23℃) temperatures were substantially improved by MPB incorporation into epoxy resins. Reactive and flexible MPB prepolymer seems to construct strong nano-structured networks with rigid epoxy backbones without sacrificing the tensile and adhesion strengths while increasing impact resistance/toughness and elongation properties. For higher impact peel while maintaining adhesion and tensile strengths, approximately 10-15 wt% MPB loading in epoxy resin was suggested. Consequently, incorporation of functionalized MPB prepolymer into epoxy system is an easy and efficient way for improving some crucial mechanical properties of epoxy resins.