Chemical and spectroscopic studies of epoxy resin reactions in the surface coating field

Esterification of epoxy resins with fatty acids at 260° occurs in two stages (1) addition of one fatty acid molecule to an epoxy group to form a hydroxy-ester, (2) esterification of the original and of the so-formed hydroxy groups. The curing process of epoxy resins with amines has been studied by infra-red spectroscopy, and by measurement of the material produced which is non-extractable by solvents. The combined data provide some indication of the curing mechanism.