【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】Tianjin University successfully develops a new type of epoxy resin

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Through innovative molecular structure design, the team led by Professor Wang Huaoyuan from the School of Chemical Engineering at Tianjin University has successfully developed a new type of epoxy resin that possesses high temperature resistance, high strength and toughness, as well as recyclability, thereby resolving the performance \"see-saw dilemma\" that has long plagued this industry. The relevant research findings were recently published in the international journal Advanced Materials. Due to its excellent adhesion properties, mechanical strength, and chemical resistance, epoxy resin is widely used in strategic fields such as new energy and electronic packaging. It is an essential key material in modern high-end manufacturing, often referred to as the \"invisible backbone\" of modern industry, with a global market size exceeding 13 billion dollars. In our country, epoxy resin remains an important substrate for wind turbine blade manufacturing. However, as wind power equipment gradually reaches the end of its useful life, about 5,800 tons of epoxy resin composite waste are generated each year. Currently, this waste is mainly disposed of through landfilling or incineration, which not only leads to resource waste but also creates environmental pressures. The main challenge in recycling epoxy resins lies in the \"see-saw dilemma\" of performance. Traditional epoxy resins form a three-dimensional network structure after curing, resembling an \"inextricable fishing net\"; it is difficult to achieve a balance among high strength, high heat resistance and toughness, as well as processability. Toughening requires a sacrifice of heat resistance, while improving heat resistance makes the material more brittle. This not only limits their use in extreme environments, but also constitutes the core bottleneck for the localization and greening of high-end epoxy resins. Starting from the stage of molecular design, Professor Wang Huaoyuan’s team cleverly incorporated reversible \"acid-base ion pairs\" into the rigid network of traditional epoxy resins. These ion pairs play a dual role in the material: they act as \"miniature shock absorbers\" that absorb impact energy, and as \"smart catalysts\" that enable key reorganization at high temperatures. This design enables the new material to maintain an ultra-high strength of 78 MPa and heat resistance (with a glass transition temperature above 245 degrees Celsius), while achieving a fracture toughness of 8.2 MJ per cubic meter. Compared to commercially available high-end epoxy resin materials, the new material has a heat resistance that is about 15% higher, while its fracture toughness has increased by nearly 3 times. While maintaining these excellent properties, the new material also possesses self-healing capabilities and recyclability, which are lacking in traditional epoxy resins. “We have achieved shape programmability and chemical degradation for the first time in a thermosetting epoxy resin with such high performance. ”Wang Huaoyuan said, “Experiments show that this material can be reprocessed and physically recycled multiple times, with a performance decline of no more than 10%.” ”This overcomes the limitation of traditional epoxy resins, which become permanently set after a single curing process. Thanks to its unique properties, the team was able to develop a super-hydrophobic and high-thermal-conductivity composite coating through a simple thermal imprinting process. The water contact angle of this coating is close to 150 degrees, and the thermal conductivity increases significantly when boron nitride fillers are added. This coating can address the cooling challenges associated with 5G base stations and high-performance chips, thereby supporting the upgrade of the high-end materials industry in line with the \"dual carbon\" goals. In the future, in the wind power sector, recyclable properties are expected to help solve the problem of handling retired wind turbine blades ； In the field of new energy vehicles, its advantages in terms of high strength and toughness, as well as heat resistance, can help to reduce the weight of equipment. Meanwhile, it offers broad prospects for the domestic substitution of high-end epoxy resins.