Effects of fatty acid modified epoxy resin on long‐chain epoxy and its physical properties

The tendency of epoxy resins to form three‐dimensional structures can make them brittle, which restricts their use in various applications even if they have great mechanical properties. Due to the expansion of epoxy resin application to electric automotives and aerospace as carbon fiber resistance plastics (CRFPs), it is desirable to synthesize epoxy resins that is more impact resistant. Herein, the synthesis of flexible epoxy resin FMER‐F and FMER‐J is reported. These epoxy resins were based on bisphenol F and J diglycidy ether. The dimeric fatty acid modified epoxy resins (FMERs) were synthesized by reacting acid anhydride modified epoxy resins (AMERs) with dimeric fatty acids. To obtain thermosetting epoxy polymers, the epoxy resin was mixed with a curing agent and an accelerator and, subsequently, it was cured at a high temperature. The mechanical properties of various epoxy polymers were analyzed to evaluate the change in the performance of the materials. The flexural strength of the composition with 10 parts per hundred resin (phr) of FMER‐F increased by 21%. The impact strength of the composition with 30 phr of FMER‐J increased by 27%. FMERs were found to be used as toughening agents in epoxy resins and composites because of their ability to enhance mechanical properties.