Vinyl Ester Resin Properties

They are produced by the addition of α β unsaturated carboxylic acids to epoxy resins.

Vinyl ester resin properties.

Bisphenol a based epoxy vinyl ester resins provide high chemical resistance and mechanical strength. Vinyl ester resins vinyl esters are halfway between polyesters and epoxies as far as typical properties and toughness and they are a step up on a cost basis. Essentially they comprise a base of polyester resin strengthened with epoxy molecules in the backbone of the molecular chain. It has greater strength and mechanical properties than polyester and less than epoxy resin.

Ve resins are a combination of both polyester resin and epoxy resins best properties. Vinyl ester resin is a high performance resin that provides improved strength properties and inhibits water penetration into the laminate a process commonly referred to as osmosis. Advances in fire retardant materials 2008. Resins are bisphenol a diglycidyl ether dgeba and epoxy phenol.

Standard epoxy vinyl ester resins are limited to 220 250 of 104 121 oc in most applications. Vinyl ester resins are produced by the reaction esterification between an epoxy resin and an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid. The shrinkage of vinyl ester resins during cure was calculated according to density measurements to be 4 10 depending on styrene content. For laminating process vinyl ester is usually initiated with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide.

While vinyl ester resins are classified as polyester based formulations they are actually an intermediate between a polyester backbone and epoxy terminations on the ends of the molecules. Properties epoxy vinyl ester resins ver are an important class of high performance thermoset molding resins. Vinyl esters also use peroxides e g. Renewable precursors to vinyl ester resins have been developed.

One of the key layers that has been introduced into fiberglass construction over the last 20 years has been the use of a corrosive resistant vinyl ester layer. Vinyl resins are often used in repair materials and laminating because it is waterproof and reliable. Their longer double bonded vinyl groups that link the ester groups together contribute a flexible nature to the resin. While they have high mechanical strength values similar to epoxy resins they are easy to apply similar to unsaturated polyester resins.

Characteristics of vinyl ester resins and networks such as shrinkage viscosity crosslink density glass transition temperature gel swelling and toughness have been studied. Vinyl ester resins offer increased strength corrosion resistance and durability and are used in a wide variety of applications.