The Irritating and Sensitizing Capacity of Epoxy Resins

During the past few years there has been a rapid development in the chemical technology of epoxy resins. Currently, these resins are being widely manufactured and are available under a variety of trade names.Industrially the epoxy resins are important for use in corrosion-resistant surface coatings, molding compounds, castings, laminating or reinforcing plastics, encapsulating electronic circuits, and adhesives, as in metal-to-metal bonding.The generic name of these compounds is derived from the fact that they are polyethers with terminal epoxy groups. In general, they are condensation products of epichlorohydrin with p,p′-isopropylidenediphenol (bisphenol A) and have the type of chemical structure shown in the Figure (a). They have a wide range of viscosities, i. e., they range from low-viscosity liquids to high-melting-point solids. Commercial epoxy resins of the low-viscosity type usually contain, in addition to the high-molecular-weight resin, an epoxy resin modifier