Replacement of styrene with acrylated epoxidized soybean oil in an unsaturated polyester resin from propylene glycol and maleic anhydride

Abstract

A nonvolatile, vegetable‐oil based chemical, acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) was investigated as a replacement of volatile and toxic styrene in one of commercial UPE resins styrene‐(PG‐MA) that is a mixture of styrene and a UPE plastic from propylene glycol and maleic anhydride (PG‐MA). Neither AESO nor PG‐MA was capable of forming a strong matrix, respectively, for glass fiber‐reinforced composites. However, a mixture of AESO and PG‐MA resulted in glass fiber‐reinforced AESO‐(PG‐MA) composites that were comparable or even superior to those from styrene‐(PG‐MA) in terms of the flexural and tensile properties. Effects of AESO contents on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the glass fiber‐reinforced AESO‐(PG‐MA) composites were investigated. Resin viscosity and resin pot life as a function of temperature were studied. The curing mechanism of the AESO‐(PG‐MA) resins is also discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45056.

Acrylated epoxidized soybean oil as a styrene replacement in a dicyclopentadiene‐modified unsaturated polyester resin

“…DCPD-UPE is very different from the PG-IPA-MA or PG-MA we investigated before in terms of its chemical structure and polarity. 18,19 In this study, we found that DCPD-UPE and AESO were miscible and formed a stable homogeneous solution at room temperature. AESO-(DCPD-UPE) could be easily used at room temperature for the preparation of glassfiber-reinforced composites.…”

“…The AESO-(DCPD-UPE) resin [ Figure 1(a)] was a stable, homogeneous, clear, easily pourable liquid at room temperature, whereas the AESO-(PG-MA) resin [ Figure 1(b)] was a cloudy, rather viscous mixture at room temperature. AESO-(PG-IPA-MA) 18 and AESO-(PG-MA) 19 had similar appearances and viscous properties; this indicated that DCPD-UPE was more compatible with AESO than PG-IPA-MA or PG-MA.…”

“…17 It has been investigated previously as a styrene replacement for two commercial UPE resins in our laboratory: (1) styrene-propylene glycol (PG)isophthalic acid (IPA)-maleic anhydride (MA), which was a mixture of styrene and the UPE PG-IPA-MA, 18 and (2) styrene-(PG-MA), which was a mixture of styrene and the UPE PG-MA. 19 There are some drawbacks for AESO-(PG-IPA-MA) and AESO-(PG-MA) resins. 18,19 AESO does not mix well with PG-IPA-MA or PG-MA to form homogeneous solutions at room temperature.…”

“…19 There are some drawbacks for AESO-(PG-IPA-MA) and AESO-(PG-MA) resins. 18,19 AESO does not mix well with PG-IPA-MA or PG-MA to form homogeneous solutions at room temperature. It has yet to be studied whether AESO-(PG-IPA-MA) and AESO-(PG-MA) would undergo phase separation during their long-term storage and transportation.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Crosslinked Polymers from Cottonseed Oil

“…Cationic copolymerization of soybean oil with styrene has been conducted resulting in a rigid thermoset polymer. 26,27 Several studies have also reported synthesis of biobased resin by using commercially available ESO reacted with maleic anhydride. 22 In a few instances, polymerization of CSOs has been reported.…”