Utilization of catalytic hardener 2PZ-CN for improving thermal conductivity of DGEBA epoxy resin

This study provides detailed information on the curing system using a catalytic reagent (3-(2-phenyl-1-imid-azolyl)propionitrile, 2PZ-CN), which is capable of anionic ring opening polymerization of epoxide as a way to improve thermal conductivity of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin. First, reaction behavior of the curing system of DGEBA/2PZ-CN was investigated through dynamic and isothermal DSC measurements, and thermal conductivity of their cured material and composite materials was investigated. The thermal conductivities of DGEBA/2PZ-CN and DGEBA/2PZ-CN/Al₂O₃(50 wt%) were 0.31 W/m·K and 1.66 W/m·K, respectively, which were about 30% higher values than the general epoxy specimens manufactured under the same conditions.