Characterization and Mechanical Properties of Epoxidized Palm Oil/Epoxy Resin Blend

Epoxidized vegetable oils based thermoset materials are widely used to develop biopolymers and to replace the fossil-fuel based polymers. In this paper, a blend of epoxy resin and epoxidized palm oil (EPO) were prepared and characterized by direct and pre-mixed methods to investigate its mechanical properties. For direct method, epoxy and EPO were mixed for 20 minutes at room temperature followed by curing for 2 hours at 100 °C. On other hand, for pre-mixed method, the EPO was reacted with hardener at 120 °C for 1 and 2 hours. Then it was mixed with epoxy resin at room temperature for 20 minutes followed by curing for 2 hours at 100 °C. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy [FTIR] and mechanical properties tests were used to characterize the blend. FTIR showed that, a reaction of epoxide group in EPO with active hydrogen atom from hardener and produced a hydroxyl group at 3300 cm-1. In general, the mechanical properties of epoxy resin/EPO were decreased when the amount of EPO was increased. However, at constant amount of EPO Young’s modulus, toughness, flexural strength, and flexural modulus were slightly increased when the time of EPO/hardener was increased. The mechanical properties were reduced due to the reduction of the cross linking density and effect of plasticizer.