SMPs have also found use in structural applications in which epoxy-based materials are often
used owing to their intrinsically high mechanical properties, chemical resistance, thermal stability,
and tunable transition temperatures. Elastic memory composites (EMCs) recently developed by
Composites Technology Development, Inc. are an example of such materials (36). However, little
information regarding their synthesis and curing kinetics is available. Merline et al. (37) investigated
the cross-linking reaction and curing kinetics of an epoxy resin with an amine telechelic
polytetramethylene oxide (PTMO). They claimed first-order kinetics. Variation in network composition
led to transformation temperatures ranging from 77◦C to 110◦C. The authors reported
that the better crystallization and/or dipolar interactions afforded by cross-linking with PTMO
improved the SM properties. The shape recovery reached 99%, and the recovery times ranged
from 12 to 30 s for simple bending deformations.