Hydrothermo degradation of polydicyclopentadiene

2014-05-07Polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD) is a novel resin synthetized by ring‐opening reaction of dicyclopentadiene catalyzed by Grubbs’ catalyst. Except for high toughness, low density and cost, PDCPD and its monomer have significantly low viscosity which allows for 10 times faster infusion rates than traditional resins. PDCPD‐based composites are now applied in industries such as wind energy, oil and gas transportation and automotive. In these applications, PDCPD often serves under hot wet and saline environment. PDCPD’s resistance to hydrothermal and saline hydrothermal environment becomes a key research property. In this work, long‐term water & salt water (35% NaCl solution) accelerated aging effect on PDCPD was studied from the standpoint of chemical composition change and dynamic mechanical property. PDCPD neat resin, PDCPD/glass composites systems were aged in 60°C deionized water and 60°C 35% NaCl solution for 180 days. DMA, Micro‐Raman spectra, SEM-EDS data were analyzed and discussed for future research references