A Low-Viscosity Glycidyl Amine from Industrial Byproducts toward High-Performance Epoxy Resins with Balanced Toughness, Strength, Hydrophobicity, and Thermal Stability

A low-viscosity and storable glycidyl amine (IHMGA) was synthesized from industrial byproducts (IHMXDA) and used to modify bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA). When the addition amount of IHMGA was 5 wt %, the cured product (IA-5.0) maintained high thermal stability (T10% = 375.2 °C) and high glass transition temperature (TgDMA = 172.4 °C) and showed significant improvements in mechanical properties: impact strength increased by 113.3%, tensile strength by 47.53%, and elongation at break by 81%. The material simultaneously demonstrated outstanding solvent resistance and hydrophobicity, achieving a water contact angle of 101.1°. Curing kinetics revealed that IHMGA reduced the activation energy (Ea) by 2.18 kJ/mol and accelerated the curing process, which was well described by the Šesták–Berggren model. This study pioneers the incorporation of antiaging agent byproducts into epoxy resin systems, achieving dual benefits: high-value utilization of industrial byproducts and comprehensive performance enhancement of the epoxy resin.