Abstract: | 2,3-Bis(4-aminophenyl)quinoxaline (1a), 2,3-bis(4-aminophenyl)-6-methylquinoxaline (1b), and 5,6-bis(4-aminophenyl)-3-(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazine (2) were studied as curing agents of epoxy resins. The exotherms on differential scanning calorimetry thermograms of the mixtures of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with 1a, 1b, and 2 were observed at higher temperatures than that of the mixture of DGEBA with a commercially used diamine, for example, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS). However, the epoxy resin cured with 1a (EP-1a) showed higher tensile strength to stainless steel at 20°C than that cured with DDS, and the high tensile strength of EP-1a was maintained even at 180°C. The epoxy resin cured with 1b or 2 also possessed higher tensile strength at 20°C than that cured with DDS, but the high tensile strength lowered somewhat at 120°C. Using diamines 1a, 1b, and 2 as a curing agent improved heat distortion temperatures of the cured epoxy resins. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 69: 1737–1741, 1998 |