Kinetics of partially depolymerized lignin as co-curing agent for epoxy resin

Lignin, which is crosslinked by ether and carbon‑carbon linkages, is a highly branched polymer consisting of phenyl propane units. And owing to the abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups and its structural heterogeneous characteristics, lignosulfonate, considered as a renewable aromatic macropolymer, can be used as co-curing agent in EP thermoset systems. In this study, kinetics of lignosulfonate (LS) and partially depolymerized lignosulfonate (DLS) as co-curing agents for applications to EP thermoset were discussed with the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement. The activation energy ( E a ) and dynamic modeling of curing reaction were obtained by the methods of non-isothermal kinetic analysis reported by Kissinger and Ozawa. The glass transition temperature ( T g ) was determined by DSC and mechanical properties of epoxy resins were carried out using the Universal Testing Machine. The LS dropped the exothermic peak temperature and E a of curing reaction of EP thermoset. Those of DLS were more active than the higher molecular weight lignosulfonate. The EP thermoset cured with DLS (EP-DLS) exhibited much higher reactivity, and the curing reaction could be occurred at lower temperature. The T g of EP-DLS has risen by 10 °C compared with the case without lignosulfonate. The tensile strength , elongation at break and impact strength of EP-DLS rose by 28.7%, 52.5% and 53.5%, respectively, than those of the epoxy resin cured with LS (EP-LS).Molecular weight of lignosulfonate could be an important factor of the curing reaction of EP thermoset. The high performance EP thermoset could be obtained by partially depolymerized lignin as co-curing agents.