Isophorone Diamine (IPDA) CAS 2855-13-2

What is Isophorone Diamine (IPDA)?

Isophorone diamine is a cycloaliphatic diamine built on a trimethylcyclohexane ring, carrying one amino group directly on the ring and a second on a pendant methylene arm. That asymmetry is deliberate and important: the two amino groups sit in genuinely different chemical environments, and they react at genuinely different rates.

It is a clear, colourless to pale-yellow liquid of moderate viscosity, boiling at about 247 °C with a flash point near 110 °C. Those numbers put it in a comfortable handling class — combustible rather than flammable, no pressure, no flammable headspace — which is one reason formulators like it compared with the volatile aliphatic amines.

IPDA exists as cis and trans isomers about the ring, and commercial material is a mixture of the two, typically weighted toward the cis form. The ratio is not cosmetic: the two isomers cure epoxy systems at measurably different rates, so a shift in ratio shows up as a shift in pot life and gel time even when the assay is unchanged.

Commercially, IPDA has two large outlets. As an epoxy curing agent it gives coatings, flooring, composites and wind-blade systems the combination of light stability, chemical resistance and high glass-transition temperature that aromatic amines cannot match without yellowing. As a chemical intermediate it is phosgenated or otherwise converted to isophorone diisocyanate, the cycloaliphatic isocyanate behind non-yellowing polyurethane coatings.

Why isophorone diamine specifically

• Light stability without aromatics. A cycloaliphatic backbone gives chemical and thermal resistance comparable to an aromatic amine without the yellowing that aromatic systems suffer on UV exposure.
• Two amines of different reactivity. The primary amine on the pendant arm reacts faster than the one on the ring, which gives a built-in cure profile rather than a single sharp exotherm.
• High glass-transition temperature. The rigid ring raises the T_g of the cured network well above what flexible aliphatic diamines deliver.
• The route to IPDI. It is the sole practical precursor to isophorone diisocyanate, the workhorse cycloaliphatic isocyanate of light-stable polyurethane coatings.

How IPDA is Manufactured

IPDA is made from isophorone in two steps, and both leave a signature on the product. The route is well established but demanding, which is why it is produced by a small number of manufacturers worldwide.

• Hydrocyanation. Isophorone is reacted with hydrogen cyanide under base catalysis to add across the conjugated double bond, giving isophorone nitrile. This step requires HCN handling infrastructure, which is the principal barrier to entry in this product.
• Reductive amination. The nitrile is treated with ammonia and hydrogen over a cobalt or nickel catalyst at elevated temperature and pressure. The ketone becomes a primary amine and the nitrile is reduced to the aminomethyl arm, giving the diamine in one operation.
• Isomer distribution. The ring amine can be formed cis or trans to the pendant arm. Catalyst and conditions set the ratio, and commercial material is typically weighted toward the cis isomer. Producers control this deliberately because it governs cure speed.
• Purification. The crude diamine is purified by vacuum distillation. Residual nitrile, partially reduced intermediates and secondary amine by-products are removed here, and how hard this step runs is what separates coating-grade from standard material.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of standard commercial grade. Coating-grade and IPDI-feedstock grades with tighter colour, water and by-product limits are available — send us the specification you work to and we will quote against it.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Reactivity in practice

Four active amine hydrogens on a rigid cycloaliphatic backbone, in two distinct environments. That is the whole functional description:

• Epoxide ring opening. Each of the four amine hydrogens opens an epoxide ring, so one IPDA molecule crosslinks up to four epoxy groups into a dense, rigid, light-stable network.
• Isocyanate conversion. Converted to isophorone diisocyanate, the cycloaliphatic diisocyanate used where a polyurethane coating must not yellow.
• Polyamide and polyurea formation. Condensation with dibasic acids gives cycloaliphatic polyamides; reaction with isocyanates gives polyurea elastomers and spray coatings.
• Differential reactivity. The aminomethyl arm reacts faster than the ring amine, so the cure builds in stages rather than all at once — useful for controlling exotherm in thick sections.

IPDA vs Other Epoxy Curing Agents

IPDA is chosen against a field of amine hardeners, and the trade-offs are consistent: aromatic amines give heat resistance but yellow, flexible aliphatics cure fast but soften, and cycloaliphatics sit between the two. Where appearance has to survive sunlight, the cycloaliphatics win by default.

Stated plainly: if the cured part will see sunlight and has to stay clear or white, a cycloaliphatic hardener such as IPDA is the realistic choice — the aromatic amines deliver better heat resistance but discolour, and the flexible aliphatics neither match the T_g nor the chemical resistance. IPDA also cures more slowly at ambient than DETA or TETA, which is a drawback in a fast adhesive and an advantage in a thick casting where exotherm has to be controlled.

Industries We Supply IPDA To

The same molecule leaves our warehouse for very different factories. What changes between them is not the CAS number but the grade — particularly colour and isomer ratio — and the documentation each sector expects.

Where IPDA is Used

IPDA divides between curing agent use and isocyanate feedstock use. These are the end uses our customers buy it for, roughly in order of volume.

As an epoxy curing agent

This is the largest direct use. IPDA's four amine hydrogens open epoxide rings to build a crosslinked network, and the rigid cycloaliphatic ring pushes the glass-transition temperature well above what flexible aliphatic amines like DETA and TETA achieve. Critically, because there is no aromatic ring, the cured film does not yellow on UV exposure the way an aromatic-amine system does. That combination — chemical resistance, heat resistance and colour stability — is what makes it the default for clear and light-coloured industrial coatings and flooring.

As the precursor to IPDI

Isophorone diisocyanate is the cycloaliphatic diisocyanate used wherever a polyurethane coating has to keep its colour: automotive refinish clearcoats, aerospace topcoats, exterior architectural finishes. IPDA is the only practical route to it, which gives this molecule a strategic position in the light-stable coatings supply chain quite out of proportion to its tonnage.

In composites and wind energy

Large infused structures present a specific problem: the exotherm from curing a thick laminate can run away and damage the part. IPDA's two amine groups react at different rates, which spreads the heat release rather than concentrating it, and the resulting network has the T_g needed for structures that operate warm. Pot life consistency is critical here, which is exactly why the cis/trans ratio deserves to be on the certificate.

In flooring and protective coatings

Resin floors have to resist chemical spillage, foot and vehicle traffic and, in many installations, daylight through rooflights. A yellowing hardener is unacceptable in a white or pale floor, and a soft one fails under traffic. IPDA-cured systems handle both. Applicators care most about pot life and about blush resistance — the tendency of some amine hardeners to react with atmospheric carbon dioxide and moisture during cure and leave a greasy surface film.

Quality Control & Testing

Every lot is released against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis. The methods behind the numbers are standard across the industry, and we are happy to share them or to work to your own in-house test protocol.

• Amine value — titration against standardised acid. This is the figure formulators derive AHEW from and mix against, so it should be agreed before assay is discussed.
• Cis / trans isomer ratio — gas chromatography. Often omitted from a standard certificate and worth requesting explicitly, since it governs cure speed.
• Colour — APHA / Hazen against a standard. Colour on the hardener carries directly into a clear or pale-coloured cured film.
• Water content — Karl Fischer titration. Water promotes blush during ambient cure and interferes with isocyanate conversion.
• Residual nitrile and intermediates — GC for unconverted isophorone nitrile and partially reduced species, which act as chain terminators and depress crosslink density.
• Viscosity — a quick practical check that correlates with by-product content and matters for mixing and metering.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When IPDA misbehaves in a plant, the cause is usually one of a short list of things. This table is the shortcut our technical desk works through before anyone opens a complaint file.

Packaging, Storage & Shipping

• Standard packing. 190 kg net in lined steel or HDPE drums, with 1000 L IBCs for larger users.
• Bulk packing. Road tankers and ISO tank containers for coating and composite plants.
• Cold weather handling. The melting point sits near 10 °C, so drums can cloud or partly solidify in winter transit. Warm gently and homogenise before use — normal behaviour, not degradation.
• Inert blanketing. Nitrogen-blanketed at fill where colour matters. Open containers also absorb carbon dioxide from air, which forms carbamate and affects both colour and amine value.
• Storage. Cool, dry, well-ventilated and bunded area away from heat, ignition sources, oxidisers and acids, with containers kept tightly closed.
• Materials of construction. Stainless steel, carbon steel or suitable lined vessels. Avoid copper, brass, bronze, aluminium and mercury, all of which are attacked by amines.
• Shelf life. Typically 12 months in unopened original packing under those conditions. Beyond that, re-test rather than assume.
• Comfortable handling class. A flash point near 110 °C and a 247 °C boiling point mean no flammable headspace and no pressure in storage. It remains corrosive and a skin sensitiser, so the PPE requirement is unchanged even though the fire risk is low.
• Transport classification. Typically UN 2735, Amines, liquid, corrosive, n.o.s., Class 8, Packing Group II. Confirm the entry and packing group against the current SDS and the shipper's declaration for your destination and mode.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Isophorone diamine is corrosive and a skin sensitiser, and must be handled by trained personnel under a proper risk assessment. The classifications below are indicative — the current SDS supplied with your consignment is the governing document.

• Sensitisation. IPDA is a skin sensitiser. Once a worker is sensitised, subsequent exposures at levels previously tolerated can provoke a reaction, so preventing first exposure matters more than managing repeat exposure. This is the dominant occupational concern with epoxy hardeners generally.
• Exposure control. Handle under local exhaust ventilation or in a closed system. Vapour pressure is very low at ambient, so skin contact rather than inhalation is the dominant exposure route — except where the material is sprayed or heated.
• PPE. Chemical-resistant gloves of a material and thickness rated for amine hardeners, chemical goggles and face shield, and chemical-resistant clothing. Glove breakthrough time is worth checking rather than assuming.
• Mixed-system handling. In a two-part system, the uncured mixture carries the hazards of both the hardener and the resin. Applicators handling mixed material need the controls for both, which is often where site risk assessments fall short.
• Incompatibilities. Strong oxidising agents, strong acids, acid chlorides, and isocyanates — the amine-isocyanate reaction is violently exothermic and must never be allowed to occur uncontrolled.
• Spill response. Contain, absorb with inert non-combustible material and collect in a labelled closed container. Do not wash to drain.
• Environment. Harmful to aquatic life. Do not allow to enter drains, surface water or groundwater. Dispose through a licensed chemical waste contractor.
• First aid. Remove contaminated clothing immediately, wash skin with plenty of water and soap, flush eyes for at least 15 minutes, and seek medical attention with the SDS to hand. Report any skin reaction, since it may indicate developing sensitisation.

Regulatory & Compliance Notes

Isophorone diamine is an established industrial chemical and is listed on the major national chemical inventories. Because obligations differ by territory, volume and use, the notes below are orientation rather than legal advice — confirm your own position with your regulatory adviser before importing.

• Inventory status. Listed on the principal chemical inventories in the major importing regions. Ask us for the inventory confirmation relevant to your destination country.
• Import registration. Several territories require the importer to hold a registration or notification before a consignment lands. Start that process early — it is the most common cause of delay at destination.
• Hazard communication. Supplied with an SDS compliant with the format applicable to your region, and labelled in line with the GHS classification for the product.
• Sensitiser labelling and training. As a skin sensitiser, IPDA triggers specific labelling and, in several jurisdictions, training and health surveillance obligations for workers handling epoxy systems. These apply to applicators downstream as well as to the formulator.
• Water-contact and food-contact coatings. Where a cured IPDA system will contact drinking water or food, the finished coating usually needs approval under the relevant scheme at destination. Approval attaches to the cured system, not to the hardener, so plan the testing into the project timeline.
• Dangerous goods. Typically UN 2735, Amines, liquid, corrosive, n.o.s., Class 8, Packing Group II. Confirm the entry against the current SDS; declarations prepared for IMDG (sea) or IATA (air) as appropriate.

We Supply IPDA Worldwide

Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Isophorone Diamine (IPDA) from India to customers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America, handling the export documentation, dangerous-goods paperwork and freight so the material arrives ready to use.

• Incoterms. EXW, FOB, CIF, CFR and DAP quoted to suit your purchasing terms and freight arrangements.
• Ports. Regular shipments through Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra, with other Indian ports arranged where it suits the routing.
• Documentation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, COA, SDS and dangerous-goods declaration issued as a complete set.
• Flexible volumes. A single drum for laboratory qualification, through LCL consolidations, up to repeat full loads on a supply contract.
• Supply continuity. Because we are independent of any one producer, a plant turnaround or a shipping disruption at one source does not have to become your stock-out.

Buying IPDA from Chelora

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For IPDA that means agreeing the amine value and, where cure kinetics matter, the cis/trans ratio before quoting — because those are the two figures a formulator actually feels, and only one of them normally appears on a standard certificate.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA, current SDS and TDS issued with the consignment, not weeks afterward.
• Samples before commitment. Trial quantities for formulation qualification ahead of a commercial order — essential where pot life is critical.
• Quantities. From a single 190 kg drum through to tank loads and ongoing contract supply.
• Export experience. Class 8 dangerous-goods documentation, packing and labelling handled for sea and road freight.
• Technical support. Direct access to people who know the chemistry, for questions on AHEW calculation, isomer ratio or blush control.
• Related intermediates. DETA, TETA, TEPA, m-phenylenediamine, MDA and the wider epoxy hardener range from one supplier.

How ordering works

• Send the enquiry. Product, grade or specification, quantity, destination port and the Incoterm you buy on. If you have a spec sheet, attach it — it saves a round trip.
• We quote. Price, lead time, packing and a sample COA, normally within one working day.
• Sample and qualify. For first orders or critical applications, we send a trial quantity so your lab can sign off before you commit.
• Confirm the order. Proforma invoice issued; payment terms agreed against the volume and the relationship.
• Production and QC. Material allocated and released against a batch-specific COA, with a pre-shipment sample where the application calls for it.
• Ship and document. Packed, labelled and loaded with the full export and dangerous-goods document set, and tracked through to arrival.

Related Amines & Intermediates

Buyers of IPDA usually source several of these alongside it. Consolidating them on one order cuts freight cost and gives you a single point of contact for documentation.