Vegetable oil-based polymeric materials: synthesis, properties, and applications

Recent advances in vegetable oil-based polymers and their composites

Biopolymer chitosan/montmorillonite nanocomposites: Preparation and characterization

Veggie-based products: Vegetable-oil-based polymeric materials, prepared by free radical, cationic, and olefin metathesis polymerizations, range from soft rubbers to ductile or rigid plastics, and to high-performance biocomposites and nanocomposites. They display a wide range of thermophysical and mechanical properties and may find promising applications as alternatives to petroleum-based polymers.

Vegetable oils are considered to be among the most promising renewable raw materials for polymers, because of their ready availability, inherent biodegradability, and their many versatile applications. Research on and development of vegetable oil based polymeric materials, including thermosetting resins, biocomposites, and nanocomposites, have attracted increasing attention in recent years. This Minireview focuses on the latest developments in the preparation, properties, and applications of vegetable oil based polymeric materials obtained by free radical, cationic, and olefin metathesis polymerizations. The novel vegetable oil based polymeric materials obtained range from soft rubbery materials to ductile or rigid plastics and to high-performance biocomposites and nanocomposites. These vegetable oil based polymeric materials display a wide range of thermophysical and mechanical properties and should find useful applications as alternatives to their petroleum-based counterparts.

Novel polymeric materials from vegetable oils and vinyl monomers: preparation, properties, and applications.

Biobased nanocomposites from layer-by-layer assembly of cellulose nanowhiskers with chitosan.

New sheet molding compound resins from soybean oil. I. Synthesis and characterization

Some discovery work was done on the synthesis of clay nanocomposites based on renewable plant oils. Functionalized triglycerides, such as acrylated epoxidized soybean oil, maleinized acrylated epoxidized soybean oil, and soybean oil pentaerythritol maleates, combined with styrene were used as the polymer matrix. The miscibility of these monomers and clay organomodifier was assessed by solubility parameters. The formation of nanocomposites was confirmed by both X-ray data and transmission electron microscopy. The morphology showed a mix of intercalated and partially exfoliated sheets. The flexural modulus increased 30% at only 4 vol % clay content, but there was no significant effect on flexural strength, glass-transition temperature, and thermal stability. Property enhancement was related to the degree of exfoliation that depends on both the polarity and flexibility of the monomers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1441–1450, 2004

Bio-based nanocomposites from functionalized plant oils and layered silicate

Additive toughening effects on new bio-based thermosetting resins from plant oils

New thermosetting resins for applications of sheet-molding compounds (SMCs) were successfully synthesized from linseed oil, which is the most molecularly unsaturated of all plant oils. The carbon–carbon double bonds were opened by epoxidation, followed by acrylation, and then maleinization, which provided more crosslink sites and added acid functionality on the triglyceride molecules to develop thickening. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the storage modulus of these new polymers was approximately 2.5 GPa at 30°C, and the glass-transition temperature was above 100°C. During maturation the resins reached a molding viscosity quickly and stayed stable. Mechanical tests showed a flexural strength of 100 MPa and a flexural modulus of 2.8 GPa. Thermogravimetric analysis showed a single degradation ranging from 300°C–480°C, which was a result of the carbonization of the crosslinked network. These bio-based resins are promising as replacements of some petroleum-based resins in the SMC industry. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006

Novel thermosetting resins for SMC applications from linseed oil: Synthesis, characterization, and properties

Thermosetting resins for sheet molding compound (SMC) and bulk molding compound applications were synthesized from soybean oil. The SMC resins were prepared from maleated hydroxylated soybean oil (MHSO) and maleated acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (MAESO) with styrene. When thickened with divalent cations such as MgO, these resins exhibited a substantial rise in viscosity at room temperature because of complexation of MgO with the terminal acid groups on maleic anhydride. The resulting high viscosity sheet upon heating rapidly reduced its viscosity as the labile MgO-acid groups thermally disassociated. The flexural strength σ and moduli E of these polymers varied from 61 to 87 MPa and from 1.6 to 2.4 GPa, respectively and the tensile strength and moduli varied from 27 to 44 MPa and from 1.6 to 2.5 GPa, respectively. The mechanical and fracture properties of these polymers were related to the amount of functional groups f, on the fatty acid backbone, and followed the Rigidity Percolation and Twinkling Fractal Theories, σ ∼ [Eν]1/2, where ν ∼ [f − 1]. The fracture energy GIC decreased significantly with increasing crosslink density, as GIC ∼ ν−2 and the plastic zone rp decreased as rp ∼ ν−3. The new bio-based resins possessed mechanical and thermal properties comparable with petroleum-based unsaturated polyesters. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:1469–1479, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers

Jue Lu

Papers

New sheet molding compound resins from soybean oil. I. Synthesis and characterization

Bio-based nanocomposites from functionalized plant oils and layered silicate

Additive toughening effects on new bio-based thermosetting resins from plant oils

Novel thermosetting resins for SMC applications from linseed oil: Synthesis, characterization, and properties

Sheet molding compound resins from soybean oil: Thickening behavior and mechanical properties