Epoxide
Resin
The reaction of
epichlorohydrin with phenols for form glycidyl
ethers was studied by Lindeman in 1891. Fourneau,
in 1910 studied the reaction between glycidyl
ethers and amines and Schlack, in Germany in 1939
examined glycidyl ethers of Bisphenol A for
producing polymers. This was to become the main
basis of epoxide resin technology but not until a
commercial route to the manufacture of Bisphenol
A and epichlorohydrin was developed by Shell,
with production commencing in 1955.
The first use of epoxide resins
was in 1939 when they were developed for dental
use by Castan in Switzerland. Ciba developed them
for adhesives in 1945.
During the 1950s epoxide resins
were considered alongside polyester resins for
making glass fibre reinforced plastics. However,
because of the difference in cost between the two
types of resin, polyester took over general
purpose reinforced plastics and the more
expensive epoxide resins were developed for the
so-called 'high tech.' applications, or 'advanced
composites' employing reinforcements such as
carbon fibres or Kevlar.
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