Micromechanical and spectroscopic characterisation of the curing performance of epoxy resins in the microbond test

In the present work, the microscale curing performance of two epoxy resin systems was investigated. It was shown that the degree to which these resins formed cured axisymmetric droplets suitable for microbond testing was influenced by the inclusion of a roomerature pre-cure stage. Immediate curing at elevated temperature of these systems resulted in the formation of under-cured, soft droplets that deformed under loading. The introduction of a protracted room temperature standing time increased the apparent interfacial shear strength substantially. Fourier-transform infrared spectra generated by a novel technique allowed for the glass transition temperature of microdroplet samples to be determined and detected deviations from stoichiometry. Good correlation was shown between the two methods, in that an increase in IFSS was commensurate with spectra indicating droplets were closer to the ideal stoichiometric ratio, and had both higher degrees of cure and glass transition temperatures.