Curable epoxy resin compositions

A curable epoxy resin composition, which is obtainable by heating a composition essentially free of non-aminic hardeners and containing at least one epoxy compound, which contains on average at least one 1,2-epoxy group and optionally also one or several hydroxyl groups in the molecule, in the presence of at least one Lewis acid as catalyst, wherein the Lewis acid is a salt of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid or of perchloric acid, the counterion of which carries a 2- to 6-fold positive charge, until the epoxy content, measured in equivalent epoxy/kg (Eq/kg) of the starting material, has been reduced by 1 to 60 percent, wherein the epoxy compound is an aliphatic 1,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)cyclohexane diglycidyl ether, a hydrogenated diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether, 1,6- butanediol diglycidyl ether and/or a bis(hydroxymethyl)tricyclodecane diglycidyl ether.

A curable epoxy resin composition, which is obtainable by heating a composition essentially free of non-aminic hardeners and containing at least one epoxy compound, which contains on average at least one 1,2-epoxy group and optionally also one or several hydroxyl groups in the molecule, in the presence of at least one Lewis acid as catalyst, wherein the Lewis acid is a salt of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid or of perchloric acid, the counterion of which carries a 2- to 6-fold positive charge, until the epoxy content, measured in equivalent epoxy/kg (Eg/kg) of the starting material, has been reduced by 1 to 60 percent, wherein the epoxy compound contains on average one to two epoxy groups and one or several hydroxyl group in the molecule.

A divided package having at least a first part and a second part, wherein the first part contains a curable epoxy resin composition and the second part contains a suitable hardener, wherein the curable epoxy resin composition is obtainable by heating a composition essentially free of non-aminic hardeners and containing at least one epoxy compound, which contains on average at least one 1,2- epoxy group and optionally also one or several hydroxyl groups in the molecule, in the presence of at least one Lewis acid as catalyst, wherein the Lewis acid is a salt of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid or of perchloric acid, the counterion of which carries a 2- to 6-fold positive charge, until the epoxy content, measured in equivalent epoxy/kg (Eg/kg) of the starting material, has been reduced by 1 to 60 percent.

A high molecular weight epoxy compound of formula (IIa)

• wherein A is a divalent aliphatic or aromatic radical, B is the radical of dioxan which is substituted either in 2- and 5-position or in 2- and 6-position and which may be in the cis- or trans-form, and n is an integer from 1 to 10.