| Abstract: | This paper describes an investigation into the degradation of a purified epoxide based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A hardened with p,p′-diaminodiphenylmethane. The method used was that of hot-wire pyrolysis followed by gas chromatography. Special attention was given to the problem of solid residues formed on the pyrolyzer tube, and evidence was found that these probably contain oligomers. Resonance-stabilized free radicals also appear to be formed, and evidence is found to support the idea of dehydration during degradation, originally put forward by Lee. An attempt, based on first principles, is made to explain the degradation of epoxides, using evidence from previous work as well as that described in this paper. |
