| Abstract: | The article describes the synthesis and characterization of silicon‐containing amide amines obtained by the reaction of bis(4‐chlorobenzoyl)dimethylsilane with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether, 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl methane, 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl sulfone/3,3′‐diaminodiphenyl sulfone, bis(3‐aminophenyl)methyl phosphine oxide, and tris(3‐aminophenyl)phosphine oxide with dimethyl acetamide as a solvent. Structural characterization of amide amines was done with Fourier transform infrared and 1H‐NMR spectroscopy. We used these aromatic amide amines as curing agents to investigate the effect of structure and molecular size on the curing and thermal behavior of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). The curing behavior of DGEBA in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of silicon‐containing aromatic amide amines was investigated by differential canning calorimetry. A broad exothermic transition in the temperature range of 200–300°C was observed in all the samples. The peak exotherm temperature was lowest in the case of phosphorus‐containing amides and was highest in the case of ether‐containing amides. Thermal stability of the isothermally cured resins was evaluated with dynamic thermogravimetry in a nitrogen atmosphere. A significant improvement in the char yield was observed with silicon‐containing amines, and it was highest in case of samples with both silicon and phosphorus as flame‐retarding elements. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1345–1353, 2003 |
