Effect of Nickel Doping on the Cure Kinetics of Epoxy/Fe3O4 Nanocomposites

Abstract

This short communication aims to evaluate the cure kinetics of epoxy/NixFe3−xO4 nanocomposites. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provided support for cure kinetics analysis based on the variation of activation energy (Eα) as a function of the extent of crosslinking reaction, α. The average values of Eα calculated based on Kissinger and Friedman methods were 59.22 and 57.35 kJ/mol for the neat epoxy, 43.37 and 48.74 kJ/mol for the epoxy/Fe3O4, and eventually 50.48 and 49.19 kJ/mol for the epoxy/NixFe3−xO4 nanocomposites. The partial replacement of Fe2+ ion sites in the Fe3O4 crystal lattice by the Ni2+ ions changed to some content the cure kinetic profile because of the fact that a lower level of energy was needed for curing by incorporation of NixFe3−xO4 into the epoxy matrix. The rate of reaction calculated theoretically adequately fitted with experimental profiles obtained in DSC experiments.