Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.81, No.2, 396-404, 2001
Erasure below glass-transition temperature of effect of isothermal physical aging in fully cured epoxy/amine thermosetting system
The erasure below the glass-transition temperature (T-g) of the effect of isothermal physical aging (at aging temperature T-a) in a fully cured epoxy/amine thermosetting system is investigated using the torsional braid analysis (TBA) dynamic mechanical analysis technique and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique. From the TEA temperature scans, the intensity of the localized perturbation of the moduli in the vicinity of the T-a (90 degreesC), due to isothermal physical aging, is decreased by heating to below the T-g(T-gx = 177 degreesC), indicating that the physical aging effect can be eliminated by heating to below the T-g. The isothermal aging effect in the vicinity of the T-a is almost completely eliminated by heating to 50 degreesC above the T-a (i.e., 140 degreesC); however, a competing aging effect occurs above T-a at higher temperatures during the heating. Erasure below T-g of the isothermal physical aging effect is inferred from DSC experiments from the diminished relaxation enthalpy in the vicinity of the T-g, which is measured from the difference in areas between the aged (T-a = 150 degreesC) and deaged thermograms. A comparison of the TBA and DSC results is made. Implications on the heterogeneous nature of the amorphous glassy state of polymers are discussed.