EFFECTS OF POLY(VINYL ACETATE) AND POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE) LOW-PROFILE ADDITIVES ON THE CURING OF UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESINS .2. MORPHOLOGICAL-CHANGES DURING CURE

The effects of two low-profile additives (LPA), poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), on the morphological changes during the cure of unsaturated polyester (UP) resins at 110-degrees-C were investigated by an approach of integrated reaction kinetics-morphology-phase separation measurements by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy (OM), and a low-angle laser light-scattering apparatus (LALLS). For the UP resins cured at 110-degrees-C, adding LPA could facilitate the phase separation between LPA and crosslinked UP phases early in the reaction, and discrete microgel particles were thus allowed to be identified throughout the reaction. Microvoids and microcracks responsible for the volume shrinkage control could also be observed evidently at the later stage of reaction under SEM. Depending on the types of LPA and the initial molar ratios of styrene to polyester C=C bonds, the morphological changes during the cure varied considerably. The progress of microstructure formation during reaction has been presented. Static ternary phase characteristics for the styrene-UP-LPA system at 25-degrees-C have also been employed to elucidate the resulting morphology during the cure in both the continuous and the dispersed phases. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.