Abstract
Two series of novel phosphorus-containing poly(alkylene) amines with or without aromatic groups were synthesized via reacting phosphoryl chloride derivatives with commercially available polyetheramines, ethylenediamine and N-phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine, respectively. Chemical structures of the amines were characterized with FTIR, NMR, P (phosphorus) content measurement, and amine content titration. These amines were then utilized as curing agents to react with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A for preparing phosphorus containing epoxy polymers. The introduction of soft-P-O-linkage, polyalkyene, and hard aromatic group into the backbones of the synthesized phosphorus-containing amine (PCA) provides epoxy resins with tunable flexibility. Thermal analysis of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) reveals that these resulted epoxy resins possess moderate T g 's and thermal stability. Furthermore, high char yields in TGA and high limited oxygen index (LOI) values indicate that these phosphorus-containing epoxy (PCE) resins are capable of exhibiting excellent flame retardant properties. These polymers can be potentially utilized in flame retardant epoxy coatings and other applications.