DSC Cure Kinetics of an Unsaturated Polyester Resin Using Empirical Kinetic Model

Kinetics Analysis of Unsaturated Polyester Resin

Abstract

In this paper, the kinetics of curing of unsaturated polyester resin initiated with benzoyl peroxide was studied. In case of unsaturated polyester (UP) resin, isothermal test alone could not predict correctly the curing time of UP resin. Therefore, isothermal kinetic analysis through isoconventional adjustment was used to correctly predict the curing time and temperature of UP resin. Isothermal kinetic analysis through isoconversional adjustment indicated that 97% of UP resin cures in 33 min at 120 °C. Curing of UP resin through microwaves was also studied and found that 67% of UP resin cures in 1 min at 120 °C. The crosslinking reaction of UP resin is so fast at 120 °C that it becomes impossible to predict correctly the curing time of UP resin using isothermal test and the burial of C=C bonds in microgels makes it impossible to be fully cured by microwaves at 120 °C. The rheological behaviour of unsaturated polyester resin was also studied to observe the change in viscosity with respect to time and temperature.