Preparation and properties of one epoxy system bearing fluorene moieties

Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol fluorene (DGEBF) and 9,9-bis(4-aminophenyl) fluorene (BPF) were synthesized to introduce more aromatic structures into an epoxy system, and their chemical structures were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, NMR, and mass spectrometric analysis. The dynamic curing behavior of the DGEBF/BPF system was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry. DGEBF was cured with BPF, diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS), and diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM), and E-44 (bisphenol A epoxide) was also cured with BPF for comparison. The thermal properties of the obtained polymers were evaluated with dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The cured DGEBF/BPF system showed a remarkably higher glass-transition temperature, better thermal stability and lower moisture absorption in comparison with the general bisphenol A epoxy resin/BPF system but approximated the heat resistance of the DGEBF/DDS and DGEBF/DDM systems. Such properties make this epoxy system very promising for heat-resistant applications.