Hycat™ AO-4

The information below provides a brief overview of some of the capabilities and applications of Hycat™ AO-4 as well as information about the catalyst itself.  If you are interested in a free sample for your R&D team, please fill out our request form.

A common problem with epoxy formulations is the tendency for the cured polymer to discolor when subjected to elevated temperatures or UV exposure. Color corruption will impair the application where light transmission is critical such as in Light-Emitting Diode (LED) or Fiber Optic Devices. Significant research has been spent in developing epoxy formulations where maximum light transmission and color stability are the desired goals. As a part of this research, considerable effort has also been dedicated to improve the efficiency of the catalysts used in these epoxy formulations.

Because amines, quaternary ammonium salts, and imidazoles have the tendency to form color, other catalysts systems are preferred. Ideally, a catalyst that can be used in low concentration, does not contribute to color formation, gives a fast gel or cure time at low temperatures and shows latency would be desirable for this application. Hycat™ AO-4 achieves these goals of clear, colorless and fast cures when reacting anhydrides with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, diglycidyl ether bisphenol F and cycloaliphatic diepoxides. Other epoxides are expected to behave favorably in similar formulations. For more information please review our PDF data sheet.

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