The invention provides highly functional epoxy resins that may be used themselves in coating formulations and applications but which may be further functionalized via ring-opening reactions of the epoxy groups yielding derivative resins with other useful functionalities. The highly functional epoxy resins are synthesized from the epoxidation of vegetable or seed oil esters of polyols having 4 or more hydroxyl groups/molecule. In one embodiment, the polyol is sucrose and the vegetable or seed oil is selected from corn oil, castor oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, tall oil fatty acid, tung oil, vernonia oil, and mixtures thereof. Methods of making of the epoxy resin and each of its derivative resins are disclosed as are coating compositions and coated objects using each of the resins.

An epoxy resin, comprising an epoxy compound having two or more mesogenic structures, and having a loss tangent of 1 or more at 35 C. before curing.

An epoxy resin, comprising an epoxy compound having a mesogenic structure, and having a value of 2/1 equal to 3 or less, wherein is an initial dynamic shear viscosity (Pa.Math.s) and 2 is a maximum value of dynamic shear viscosity (Pa.Math.s), in a measurement of dynamic shear viscosity.

A polarizing plate is provided. The polarizing plate includes a polarizer; and a protective layer provided on one surface or both surfaces of the polarizer directly adjoining the polarizer, wherein the protective layer is a cured material of a photocurable composition for a polarizing plate protective layer comprising an epoxy compound and an oxetane-based compound, and an image display device comprising the polarizing plate.

A resin sheet includes an epoxy resin including an epoxy resin oligomer and an epoxy resin monomer; a curing agent; and an inorganic filler, wherein a content of the inorganic filler is more than 30% by volume but less than 80% by volume.

Provided is a polymer nanofiber sheet having high delamination resistance, a high mechanical strength, and a high specific surface area. Specifically, provided is a polymer nanofiber sheet, including polymer nanofibers, the polymer nanofibers being laminated and three-dimensionally entangled with each other, in which: at least part of the polymer nanofibers are crosslinked at a crosslinked part having crosslinking portions and a non-crosslinking portion; and the crosslinked part contains a low-molecular weight epoxy compound having a molecular weight of from 100 to 3,000.

The present invention relates to a polymeric Mannich base useful as an epoxy curative and/or accelerator, which has an improved safety profile due to the avoidance of the use of phenol in its preparation. More specifically, the present invention provides a method for forming a polymeric Mannich base, as well polymeric Mannich bases preparable by the method, for use as an epoxy resin curative and/or accelerator, said method comprising: i) providing: a) a polymer comprising aromatic terminal groups linked by a hydrocarbyl polymeric backbone, wherein each of the aromatic terminal groups comprises a ring substituted with at least one activating group and at least one unsubstituted ring atom, wherein the one or more activating groups is capable of activating the aromatic terminal group to undergo electrophilic aromatic 15 substitution at the at least one unsubstituted ring atom; wherein the aromatic terminal groups are bonded to the hydrocarbyl polymeric backbone through an ether, ester, amine, amide, thioether, or thioester group; b) a primary or secondary monoamine and/or a polyamine comprising primary and/or secondary amino groups, and c) an aldehyde; and ii) performing a Mannich reaction using components a) to c), wherein each aromatic terminal group of the polymer is converted to a Mannich base.

A fluorine-containing ether compound of the present invention is represented by the following General Formula (1). (In the General Formula (1), X is a trivalent atom or a trivalent atom group, A is a linking group including at least one polar group, B is a linking group having a perfluoropolyether chain, and D is a polar group or a substituent having a polar group at the end.)

[Chem. 1]

XA-B-D).sub.3 (1)

An epoxy resin composition used as a structural bonding agent is provided. Specifically, used is an epoxy resin composition containing an epoxy resin (A) having an epoxy equivalent of 500 to 10,000 g/eq represented by the formula (1) below:

##STR00001##

wherein, Ar is an aromatic ring, X is a structural unit having an alkylene chain, Y is a structural unit having a polyether chain, R.sub.11 and R.sub.12 are a glycidyl ether group or a 2-methylglycidyl ether group, R.sub.13 and R.sub.14 are a hydroxyl group, a glycidyl ether group, or a 2-methylglycidyl ether group, R.sub.15 and R.sub.16 are a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, m1 and m2 are 0 to 25, and m1+m21, p1 and p2 are 0 to 5, and q is 0.5 to 5, an epoxy resin (B) having an epoxy equivalent of 100 to 300 g/eq, and thermally expandable particles (C).

The present invention concerns a process for the preparation of poly(limonene)dicarbonate (PLDC) from poly(limonene)carbonate, proceeding via the epoxidized intermediate, as well as the resulting PLDC products having an unusually high glass transition temperature.