MIDINFRARED AND NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS OF REACTIONS BETWEEN PHENYL GLYCIDYL ETHER (PGE) AND AROMATIC-AMINES

Mid-infrared (MIR) and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopies have been employed to examine the reactions between phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE) and five aromatic amines. Although MIR spectroscopy can effectively study the kinetics of PGE/aromatic amine cure reactions, the OH and NH stretching bands overlap and the NH in-plane bending band overlaps with an aromatic ring stretching band of PGE. This significantly reduces the utility of MIR spectroscopy for quantitative studies of PGE cure reactions. In contrast, the absorption bands of these functional groups in the NIR spectrum are well separated from the absorption bands of other functional groups. The utility of NIR spectroscopy for studying the kinetics of epoxy resin cure reactions has been clearly established. Absorbances in the NIR spectra suitable for quantitative studies of epoxy resin reaction kinetics have been identified. The ability of in situ NIR spectroscopy to obtain isothermal kinetic data has been demonstrated.