Epoxy resin (EP) is a widely used thermosetting resin. However, its cross-linked structure poses a big challenge for recycling into value-added products. This study advanced the recycling of acid anhydride-cured epoxy using solid-state shear milling (S3M) technology. Through this process, the C–C backbone and C–O cross-linking bonds in epoxy resins were destroyed, generating C═O and −OH reactive groups in the reactive epoxy resin powder (REP). When REP-20 (number of milling cycles) is incorporated as an active filler into the original curing system, the tensile strength of the epoxy resin increased from 34.2 to 51.6 MPa, and the flexural strength increased from 57.1 to 82.3 MPa, which were 50.1 and 44.1% enhancement, respectively, compared to REP-1. Futhermore, REP powder can serve as an active filler into epoxy resin with other curing agents, such as curing agent 593 and 4,4-Diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM). By employing REP powder to enhance surface roughness in hydrophobic coating, a contact angle increased 144.1°. Additionally, when REP was utilized in a filter column, it effectively separated water and oil with a separation efficiency of up to 99%. After 10 cycles of operation, the flux and filtration efficiency of the devices remained unchanged, demonstrating excellent stability and reusability. This study provided a new way to recycle thermosetting resins to produce value-added functional fillers for applications such as hydrophobic coatings and oil–water separation.

中文翻译：

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酸酐固化环氧树脂的机械化学回收用于功能应用


环氧树脂 （EP） 是一种广泛使用的热固性树脂。然而，其交联结构对回收成增值产品构成了巨大挑战。这项研究使用固态剪切铣削 （S3M） 技术推进了酸酐固化环氧树脂的回收利用。通过这个过程，环氧树脂中的 C-C 主链和 C-O 交联键被破坏，在反应性环氧树脂粉末 （REP） 中生成 C═O 和 -OH 反应性基团。当 REP-20（铣削循环次数）作为活性填料加入原始固化体系时，环氧树脂的拉伸强度从 34.2 MPa 增加到 51.6 MPa，弯曲强度从 57.1 增加到 82.3 MPa，与 REP-1 相比分别提高了 50.1% 和 44.1%。此外，REP 粉末可以与其他固化剂（如固化剂 593 和 4,4-二氨基二苯基甲烷 （DDM））一起用作环氧树脂的活性填料。通过使用 REP 粉末来提高疏水涂层的表面粗糙度，接触角增加了 144.1°。此外，当 REP 用于过滤塔时，它可以有效地分离水和油，分离效率高达 99%。运行 10 次循环后，装置的通量和过滤效率保持不变，表现出优异的稳定性和可重复使用性。这项研究提供了一种回收热固性树脂的新方法，以生产用于疏水涂料和油水分离等应用的增值功能性填料。