1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved method for curing epoxy resins and the resin product thus produced. The invention also relates to an epoxy resin and curative composition.
2. Description of Related Art
Epoxy resins constitute a broad class of polymeric materials having a wide range of physical properties. The resins are characterized by epoxide groups, which are cured by reaction with curing agents to provide cured epoxy resin compositions with various desirable properties. The most common epoxy resins are condensation products of epichlorohydrin and Bisphenol A.
Substituted imidazoles have been used as curing agents for epoxy resins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,528 to H. G. Waddill et al. discloses 1-isopropyl-2-methyl imidazole as an epoxy resin curative.
This patent teaches the desirability of making cured products from a substituted imidazole. The need for extending the working time of these compositions has become apparent in order to utilize the desirable properties of the imidazole curative for applications such as filament winding.