Maximizing Lightweight Composites Performance and Production Efficiency: Part A, Urea Accelerators

One-part epoxies are important to many segments for lightweight, high performance composites. As a curing agent for epoxy resins, dicyandiamide provides one-part formulations with extended room-temperature shelf lives, but the curing reaction becomes very sluggish below 170°C, endangering the efficiency and economy in many applications. Substituted ureas can be used as latent accelerators for dicyandiamide-cured epoxy resins, permitting accelerated curing at low temperatures while still optimizing important properties, such as shelf life of prepregs and glass transition temperature of final component. Future webinar topics will also discuss other options for maximizing composites performance, such as tougheners and specialty epoxy resins.