Frontal polymerization for fiber-reinforced composites
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsIan D. Robertson, Jeffrey S. Moore, Nancy R. Sottos, Scott R. White
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Abstract
Polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD) is a polymer of growing importance in industrial applications. Frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization (FROMP) offers a means to rapidly cure PDCPD with minimal input energy owing to a propagating reaction wave sustained by the exothermic polymerization. The disclosure provides methods for the rapid fabrication of fiber reinforced composites that is less restrictive and more energy efficient than conventional methods.
Claims19
A method for fabricating a fiber composite, the method comprising:
- a) stacking one or more layers of a fabric;
- b) suffusing the fabric with a mixture comprising a reactive monomer, a catalyst, and an optional catalytic inhibitor to extend the gelation time of the mixture, wherein the mixture is capable of frontal polymerization;
- c) shaping the fabric into one or more dimensions;
- d) contacting the suffused fabric with a thermal stimulus at one or more loci on the fabric that is sufficient in duration to trigger frontal polymerization, and discontinuing the thermal stimulus after frontal polymerization is triggered;
- and
- e) allowing frontal polymerization originating from the loci of thermal contact to propagate parallel to the fabric to cure the fiber composite;
- wherein frontal polymerization propagates a self-sustaining exothermic polymerization wave with a frontal velocity of greater than 1 cm/min, thereby producing a cured fiber-reinforced composite that has been shaped into one or more dimensions.
A method for rapidly fabricating a shaped carbon fiber composite, the method comprising:
- a) stacking one or more layers of a carbon fiber fabric;
- b) suffusing the fabric with a mixture comprising about 1M to about 10 M of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), about 10 ppm to about 500 ppm of dichloro[1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2-imidazolidinylidene](benzylidene)(tricyclohexylphosphine)ruthenium(II) (GC2), and about 0.1 equivalents to about 5 equivalents of tri-n-butyl phosphite based on the moles of GC2;
- c) shaping the fabric into one or more dimensions;
- d) contacting the suffused fabric with a thermal stimulus at one or more loci on the fabric that is sufficient in duration to trigger frontal polymerization, and discontinuing the thermal stimulus after frontal polymerization is triggered;
- and
- e) allowing frontal polymerization originating from the loci of thermal contact to propagate parallel to the fabric to cure the fiber composite;
- wherein frontal polymerization propagates a self-sustaining exothermic polymerization wave with a frontal velocity of greater than 1 cm/min, thereby producing a cured fiber-reinforced composite that has been shaped into one or more dimensions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.