Synthesis and latent characteristics of thermal cationic latent catalysts by change of substituent

The syntheses of thermal latent catalysts have been carried out by modifying the substituent of pyrazinium salts. The thermal latent properties and cure behaviors of difunctional epoxy resin (diglycidylether of bisphenol-A, DGEBA) with 1 wt% of catalyst as an initiator were investigated by dynamic DSC method. As a result, the synthesized catalysts showed the good latent thermal properties in epoxy system. With increasing the basicity of substituted catalyst, the cure temperature and activation energy of epoxy system were increased, whereas the activity was decreased. This was probably due to the fact that the activity and cure behavior were controlled by ring strain and basicity of substituent. Consequently, the catalyst activity modified by methyl group as an electron donor was decreased in increasing of basicity in an initiation step of epoxy cure system. This is due to a decreasing of stabilities of both leaving group of pyrazinium salts and benzyl cation. However, the catalyst activity modified by cyano group as an electron acceptor was increased in increasing the stability of benzyl cation resulting from organic effects and resonance.