Thermosets 2011. From Monomers to Components

Thermosets 2011 21-23 September 2011, Berlin, Germany Thermosets are covalently bonded, 3D-crosslinked materials that can't be melted by heating or dissolved completely in any solvents. This three dimensional network is one surety for long term stability, no creeping and a lot of other outstanding properties (depending on the used monomers), but at the same time the crosslink-structure (insolubility) is a big disadvantage. Therefore, there is a need for concepts concerning recycling and repair. Thermosetting materials can be crosslinked by heat, radiation or a combination of both. For a good performance, high curing temperatures and long curing times are necessary. This means that a lot of energy is needed for the curing. One possibility for saving energy is to use microwave curing. Generally, thermosets provide hardness, strength at relatively high temperatures, insolubility, good heat and chemical resistance as well as the resistance to creep. But thermosets are usually brittle when highly crosslinked. Therefore the properties have to be balanced for each application. One of the goals of the conference was to show this potential, especially how to reach good toughness without losing performance. Thermosets are mainly used with fillers and/or reinforcements, which was another subject that has been pointed out in the presentations of the conference. The demands for processing of thermosetting resins can be very different, depending on the respective application, e.g. as adhesive, casting resins, foams, binders and prepregs, infusion or pultrusion resins. This whole spectrum of topics concerning thermosets was presented during the conference Thermosets 2011 that took place in September 2011 in Berlin, Germany.