Abstract: The method of thermal frontal polymerization (TFP) was used to cure the selected alicyclic epoxy resin. The effect of the factors, including amount of curing agent, preheating temperature and tilt angle of reactor, on frontal velocity and frontal temperature was investigated. The structure and thermal properties of the cured products were characterized with FTIR, DSC and TG analysis. The results showed that both frontal velocity V_f and maximum frontal temperature T_max increased with increasing amount of curing agent or preheating temperature, while initiation time and the time needed to reach the highest frontal temperature decreased. When the reactor tilted, the heading direction of the descending front would drift, and frontal velocity would tend to slow down. The analysis of FTIR spectrum indicated that the products obtained by the TFP method exhibited similar infrared absorption as compared to that of the products prepared by the traditional thermal curing method. DSC and TG results revealed that the products obtained by the TFP method had higher glass transition temperature and better thermal stability.

Key words: frontal polymerization, epoxy resin, curing, heading velocity, thermal properties

摘要： 采用热引发前线聚合（TFP） 方法固化了脂环族环氧树脂（221树脂），研究了固化剂用量、预热温度和反应器倾斜角度等因素对聚合前线的推动速率和前线温度的影响，并利用FTIR、DSC、TG等手段对固化物结构和热性能进行了表征。研究结果表明，固化剂用量越大或预热温度越高，引发前线聚合反应所需的时间越短，前线推动速率V_f 越快，前线最高温度T_max 越高，达到最高前线温度所需时间越短；试管倾斜一定角度后，下行前线方向发生偏离，V_f有所下降；FTIR测试结果表明，采用TFP法得到的环氧固化物与采用传统热固化工艺得到的固化物有相似的红外吸收，DSC和TG测试结果表明前线聚合产物具有更高的玻璃化温度和更好的热稳定性。

关键词: 前线聚合, 环氧树脂, 固化, 推动速率, 热性能