Engineering an All-Biobased Solvent- and Styrene-Free Curable Resin

Abstract

The sustainable production of polymers and materials derived from renewable feedstocks such as biomass is vital to addressing the current climate and environmental challenges. In particular, finding a replacement for current widely used curable resins containing undesired components with both health and environmental issues, such as bisphenol-A and styrene, is of great interest and vital for a sustainable society. In this work, we disclose the preparation and fabrication of an all-biobased curable resin. The devised resin consists of a polyester component based on fumaric acid, itaconic acid, 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, 1,4-butanediol, and reactive diluents acting as both solvents and viscosity enhancers. Importantly, the complete process was performed solvent-free, thus promoting its industrial applications. The cured biobased resin demonstrates very good thermal properties (stable up to 415 °C), the ability to resist deformation based on the high Young’s modulus of ∼775 MPa, and chemical resistance based on the swelling index and gel content. We envision the disclosed biobased resin having tailorable properties suitable for industrial applications.

Bio-based unsaturated polyester resin from post-consumer PET

“…[15][16][17] Our interest in sustainable UP resins for ber reinforcement, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, aligns with prior research in the eld. Many studies have explored the use of biobased itaconic acid (IA) [18][19][20][21][22] bio-based muconic acid, [23][24][25] or bioderivable fumaric acid 25 as sources of unsaturation in the polyester backbone, as opposed to oil-based maleic anhydride (MA). The hard building blocks in traditional UPs, derived from phthalate moieties, can be easily replaced by bio-based 2,6furanedicaroboxylic acid (FDCA) 19,26,27 or glycolyzed PET.…”

“…29 However, the urgent need for its replacement arises due to health, 30 environmental 31 and safety concerns. 32 Various alternative RDs have been explored, including acrylates, 19,33 methacrylates, 19,26,27,29 itaconates, [20][21][22]34 bio-based allylbenzene congeners 35 and bio-based styrene congeners. 36 Despite the introduction of several promising concepts for sustainable UP resins in recent years, 21,[25][26][27]33 none has been successfully commercialized, likely due to high prices and/or limited availability of key components (e.g., muconic acid, FDCA, bio-based RDs).…”