Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Lignin/Epoxy Resin Composites

Lignin/epoxy resin composites were prepared by blending lignin with epoxy resin cured by polyamide. The effect of the content of lignin and polyamide on the mechanical properties of the lignin/epoxy resin composites was studied systemically. And the structure for the blend of lignin and epoxy resin without the curing agent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of mechanical properties test showed that the bending strength of the composites decreases gradually with increasing the content of lignin, while the impact strength increased firstly and then decreased. The bending strength of lignin/epoxy resin composites showed a trend of increasing firstly and then decreasing with the increase of the content of polyamide, while the impact strength exhibited an opposite trend. The density for the composites increased with the addition of lignin, and polyamide exhibited an inconspicuous effect on density of the composites. The FTIR analysis results showed that the epoxy resin could be cured by lignin without polyamide, which concluded that the lignin could catalyze the cross-linking of epoxy resin or react with epoxy resin, and this bonding effect would beneficial to the properties of lignin/epoxy resin composites.