Modification of Resin Matrices using Polyimide Oligomers

A method of blending polyimide oligomers with active carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups with two types of epoxy resins (difunctional and tetrafunctional)has been researched with an objective of studying their compatibility and the effect of the resulting resin matrices on the performance properties. The project is divided into the following parts: (1) synthesis and characterization of 4,4'-diamino-4''-hydroxytriphenylmethane (DAHTM) monomer using aniline hydrochlorate as the catalyst; (2) synthesis and characterization of carboxylic imide 4,4'-diamino-4''-hydroxytriphenylmethane (CIDAHTM) and carboxylic imide 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl propane (CIBAPP) polyimide oligomers; (3) preparation of the high performance resin matrices by incorporating the polyimide oligomers into the epoxy resins and carrying out the performance tests; and (4) preparation of a glass-fiber reinforced composite using the modified E51 + TGDDM epoxy resin and testing its performance.