| This dissertation includes two chapters. In chapter one, the polymerization of the bisaliphatic epoxy resin, 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl, 3,4-epoxycyclohexylcarboxylate initiated by diaryliodonium or triarylsulfonium salts under microwave energy, ultraviolet light, and conventional thermal heating, has been investigated. Several onium salts have been synthesized. DSC and FTIR methods to measure extent of polymerization have been established. Some polymerization phenomena which cannot be explained simply by microwave thermal heating have been found. A new theory based on an assumption that a new partition function exists in microwave fields has been proposed for microwave polymerizations, which results in internal energy changes of chemicals with permanent dipole moments in microwave fields, and shifts in reaction equilibrium and kinetics.;Chapter two reports on the fabrication of damage resistant glass fiber reinforced polyester composites. A liquid surfactant method to modify fiber-matrix surfaces and to control interfacial adhesion in polyester composites, has been researched. It leads to much larger areas of dynamic loading transfer and distribution in composites, and gives unusually high mechanical strengths for the polyester composites. |
