Kinetic study of polysulfide-acrylate click reaction by DEA and DMA

The curing process of a polysulfide (PSF) with a triacrylate crosslinker in the presence of an amine catalyst at room temperature is a rapid Michael addition. This reaction was monitored by real‐time infrared spectrum (RTIR). The results of the RTIR show that the consumptions of thiol and acrylate are stoichiometric until 80% conversion, indicating the characteristics of a “click” reaction. Dielectric analyzer (DEA) and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) were employed to investigate the curing kinetics from which the activation energies of this curing reaction were obtained and shown to correlate with each other. In addition, the influences of the types and amount of amine catalyst, the different molecular weights of PSFs, and the triacrylate crosslinkers were discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.