Advances in the development of biobased epoxy resins: insight into more sustainable materials and future applications

Abstract

The urgent need to replace fossil resource-based products is considerably increasing in the past few years, resulting in the search for more sustainable materials, with the aim of reducing the wastes from polymer pollution, solving economic and environmental issues. This is even more relevant in industrial fields, where toxic compounds are the basis of their polymeric formulations. Herein is reported the most relevant advances of epoxy resins (ERs) in the past decade, with great emphasis on the replacement of bisphenol A (BPA), leading to the production of renewable-based ERs with good properties. The synthesis of ERs based on renewable sources, such as vegetable oils, phenolic compounds, sugars and the outcome in the material's structure is explored within this review. Emphasis is also given to the use of new biobased curing agents and biofillers to enhance the biocharacter of the ERs.

A Biosourced Epoxy Resin for Adhesive Thermoset Applications

“…However, the elongation at break (5.44 � 0.69 %) was much lower than that found for the 1 : 1 PCO:Jeff thermoset (20.8 � 9.7 MPa). The highest elongation at rupture is an attractive characteristic in comparison to the typically breakable behavior of low molecular weight bio-based epoxies and DGEBA-based commercial epoxies, [34] providing an opportunity to extend the scope of adhesives including flexible surfaces, as will be demonstrated in the following paragraph.…”

Cross-Linking Mechanisms of a Rigid Plant Oil-Based Thermoset from Furfural-Derived Cyclobutane

“…The remaining hexane after filtration was reused for the next run. 1 H NMR results were presented in our previous work. 17…”

“…As a result, there is a growing market for commercially viable methods of producing bio-thermosets. Epoxy resins, including biobased epoxidized vegetable oils (EVSOs) − and biobased aromatic derivatives, − are sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based resins due to their abundance, availability, and low cost. − However, preparing a safe-by-design thermoset with a high glass-transition temperature and excellent thermal and mechanical properties remains a major challenge, especially given that raw material renewability does not imply safety. ,− …”

Numerical and Experimental Assessment of Mechanical Properties of Biobased Epoxy Reinforced by Flax Fibres and Seashell Nanoparticles for Prosthetic Socket

“…Biobased epoxy has characteristics such as low toxicity and cost, which can reduce the detrimental influence of nonsustainable epoxy on the environment and economy. Nonetheless, the use of these biobased materials may cause an inadequate performance of the obtained epoxy products [25]. erefore, the purpose of this work was to appraise the influence of the incorporation of three layers of woven flax fabric (FF) and various weight fractions of SS on the mechanical properties of biobased epoxy in order to be used for prosthetic sockets.…”