Utilization of microwaves and conductor polymers for the rapid drying of epoxy resins

Epoxy resins are widely and successfully used for the production of elements, like adhesive for joining different types of materials and as the main component in paints that are very resistant to different weather conditions. These materials need a relatively long time to dry, or are baked to reduce the drying time. There are many different kinds of epoxy resins, depending on their application target. Many of these resins are hard to heat with microwaves because they have low losses when exposed to such waves. However, there are ways to modify these intrinsic properties so that the microwaves can be joined to the adhesive, by the addition of black carbon particles in the adhesive mixtures. This work discusses the use of microwave energy to accelerate the drying process for a specific type of epoxy resin: Prodyser PL-301. Aggregates of polymer conductors were also tested, specifically polyaniline, to observe the effects of heating while exposed to the microwaves. Mechanical trials were carried out on the different samples; air dried, baked and microwaved: tests of Shore hardness and of resistance to traction, and to the effects of determining curing times, as well as the maximum mechanical resistance obtained. An interesting effect was observed with the addition of polyaniline to the resin and the exposure to microwaves. The results show that microwave energy can significantly reduce the curing times for this particular type of epoxy resin, without subtantially affecting its mechanical properties (CW)