Epoxy resin: an indispensable assistant in all branches

Epoxy resin - a substance with a high resistance to acids, halogens and alkalis. It is a synthetic oligomer. With its help, you can glue almost any material. In the liquid state, it is a transparent epoxy resin having a yellow-orange color, and after solidification it becomes brown and practically safe for health. However, it can not be used where there may be potential contact with solvents that wash off the sol-fractions. In the liquid state, it is very toxic, so its use requires compliance with a certain set of rules.

Of course, to glue dishes or other objects in contact with food or drinking water, it can not be used, for this there are other substances. However, thanks to its properties, epoxy resin is an indispensable assistant in a very wide range of industries. Two main ways of using this material: as an adhesive and impregnation. With its help protect against corrosion, concrete, metal, make molds for molding, glue various, even very important, parts in virtually all branches of engineering. Epoxy resin and fiberglass are the starting materials for the production of fiberglass, widely used in construction, shipbuilding and aircraft construction. Also the first is used for filling in electronics and even in design.

Epoxy resin is used in conjunction with a hardener. Where there is inadmissible heat treatment, in domestic conditions, cold workshops are used in small workshops. And for important products designed to work under large static and dynamic loads, in aggressive environments - hot cure reagents. In this case, a denser mesh is formed that fastens the polymer molecules. In addition, there are epoxy resins and hardeners, designed specifically for high humidity, salt water conditions.

Working with it in everyday life, it is necessary to understand that when it is combined with the hardener, an exothermic reaction takes place, and the more polymer mass, the more heat is generated. In this regard, it is necessary to choose the right amount of the substance and correlate it with the purpose of use, since in the end it should turn out to be a uniform (without bubbles) solid substance. In addition, the reaction of the hardener and resin is irreversible, and after it the thermosetting plastic, unlike the thermoplastic, can not be melted or dissolved to rework the result. The most common and available substances for curing epoxy materials today are considered to be PEPA, DETA, TETA, TEPA and No. 1 (hexamethylenediamine dissolved in ethyl alcohol). Due to the fact that the usual two-component compound - a thing rather fragile, its elasticity is increased by adding one more component. This element is called "elasticizer", it can have a different chemical composition and, depending on it, have certain characteristics. True, chemists have already discovered materials that have the ability to act simultaneously as both a hardener and an elasticizer.