Epoxy

Epoxy or polyepoxide is a thermosetting epoxide polymer that cures when mixed with a catalyzing agent or "hardener". Most common epoxy resins are produced from a reaction between epichlorohydrin and bisphenol-A. The first commercial attempts to prepare resins from epichlorohydrin occurred in 1927 in the United States. Credit for the first synthesis of bisphenol-A based epoxy resins is shared by Dr. Pierre Castan of Switzerland and Dr. S.O. Greenlee in the United States in 1936. Dr. Castan's work was licensed by Ciba, Ltd. of Switzerland and Ciba went on to become one of the 3 major epoxy resin producers worldwide. The epoxy business of Ciba was spun-off and later sold in the late 1990s and is now the Advanced Materials Business unit of Huntsman Corporation of the United States. Dr. Greenlee's work was for a company called Devoe-Reynolds of the United States. Devoe-Reynolds was a player in the early days of the epoxy resin industry, but later sold its business to Shell Chemical (now Resolution Polymers).

Related Topics:
Thermoset - Epoxide - Polymer - Catalyzing - Resins - Bisphenol-A - 1927 - United States - Dr. - Pierre Castan - Switzerland - S.O. Greenlee - 1936 - Ciba - Huntsman Corporation - Shell

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