Novel Dow Technology Enhances Epoxy Toughness Without Tradeoffs

Fusion coatings for solid bonded epoxy, rebar
and oil and natural gas pipes are among the
many application areas that might benefit from
Dow's new toughened epoxy technology.

For the last two decades, scientists have explored various approaches to improve the ductility of epoxy thermoset resins. Until now, however, increased fracture toughness in brittle epoxies has typically come at the expense of modulus, Tg and processability, resulting in unacceptable tradeoffs.

This problem has been addressed by scientists at Dow and academia with the development of toughened epoxy resins that use self-assembling polymers as additives to liquid epoxy resin at low weight percentages. 

"Rather than using additives like plasticizers or diluents which can raise viscosity and cause processing challenges, we sought a novel approach that would enhance toughness without big compromises," said Marv Dettloff, Dow Epoxy project leader. "We have developed a low viscosity liquid product that can do this in a number of applications, and we are very excited to work with more customers on sampling and trials."

The new toughened epoxy technology is targeted at high performance applications where the corrosion and abrasion resistance of epoxies are needed, but greater mechanical performance is required. Applications currently being investigated include:

• Marine coatings
• Protective coatings
• Fusion coatings for solid bonded epoxy, rebar and oil and natural gas pipes
• Powder coatings
• Composites where improved delamination performance is needed
• Adhesives requiring greater toughness

The material is available for sampling as a master batch formulation, which can be customized by each customer for specific application testing.

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