Preparation and Properties of Halogen-Free Flame Retardant Epoxy Resins with Aryl Phosphinate Dianhydride Hardener

Abstract

Two halogen-free flame retardant epoxy resins were prepared by diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy with two compound hardeners. The aryl phosphinate dianhydride BPAODOPE was used as a hardener and flame retardant when coupled with two curing agents, such as methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MeHHPA) and maleic anhydride (MA). The effect of the BPAODOPE contents on the fire resistance, thermal properties and mechanical properties of halogen-free flame-retardant epoxy resins were investigated in detail. The results showed that the phosphorus-containing epoxy resin composites had a higher UL-94 grade and char yield, furthermore, the flame retardation and the char yield of the cured epoxy resins increased with an increase of the phosphorus content, the phosphorus content of 1.75% was enough to achieve UL-94 V-1 grade and the best combination properties for the two composites with different hardeners.