Rheological study on the cure kinetics of dicyanimidazole resin

The curing kinetics of a newly reported dicyanimidazole (DCI) thermosetting resin namely 1,1'-(propane-1,3-diyl) bis (1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarbonitrile) (PDBDCI) was studied by rheological methods. The results showed that the curing process could be described by autocatalytic model. The viscosity of PDBDCI was evaluated by Arrhenius equation, which indicated the wide flow window and good processability of PDBDCI. The variation of activation energy E-alpha on conversion a was established by Friedman non-model kinetic method and the result indicated that the resin curing mechanisms varying with curing stages.