Morphology and Thermomechanical Properties in Epoxy Acrylate Interpenetrated Networks

Interpenetrated Polymer Networks (IPNs) were produced from the simultaneous UV-photocuring of Bisphenol A propoxylate diacrylate (BPA-PDA) and 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3,4-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate (ECH) under a polychromatic source. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the morphology of the samples, when dependence in thermal stability with the composition was evidenced from Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The aptitude to create a wide range of thermomechanical properties was investigated towards Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Dynamic mechanical Analysis (DMA) and tensile tests. Post-curing contributes to increase the glass transition and the strain at break of the materials, and is also responsible to higher resistance to thermal degradation. Results show promising possibilities for the future development of graded materials with property control at different scales.