Rheological Analysis of the Synthesis of High-Molecular-Weight Epoxy Resins from Modified Soybean Oil and Bisphenol A or BPA-Based Epoxy Resins

Abstract

The research undertaken in this work is one of the examples of the engineering of modern polymer materials. This manuscript presents studies on the gelation process which might occur during the synthesis of epoxy resin using the modified vegetable oil via the epoxy fusion process conducted in bulk. Based on obtained results we determined rheological parameters related to the properties of reacting mixture during the polyaddition process, especially before and after occurring the phenomenon of gelation (via (1) theoretical determination of the gel point using the degree of conversion of reactants before occurring the gelation process of reacting mixture and (2) experimentally—the dynamic mechanical properties such as storage modulus, G′; loss modulus, G″; and loss tangent, tg δ). Theoretical investigations show that for both systems: epoxidized soybean oil and bisphenol A (ESBO_BPA), as well as the hydroxylated soybean oil and low molecular weight epoxy resin (SMEG_EPR), theoretical values of the degree of conversion at the gel point are characterized by similar values (ESBO_BPA: xgel-theoretical = 0.620, xgel-theoretical = 0.620 and SMEG_EPR: xgel-theoretical = 0.614, xgel-experiment = 0.630, respectively), while the one determined based on the initial assumptions are greater than the above-mentioned (ESBO_BPA: xgel-assumed = 0.696 and SMEG_EPR: xgel-assumed = 0.667). Moreover, experimental studies in the viscoelastic fluid stage showed that the SMEG_EPR system is characterized by lower values of G′ and G″, which indicates lower elasticity and lower viscosity than the epoxidized derivative. It was found that alike during the conventional polyaddition reaction, both systems initially are homogeneous liquids of increasing viscosity. Wherein gradual increase in viscosity of the reaction mixture is related to the fusion of oligomer molecules and the formation of higher molecular weight products. In the critical stage of the process, known as the gelation point, the reaction mixture converts into the solid form, containing an insoluble cross-linked polymer.

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“…All bioesters submitted to the rheology tests present a decrease of viscosity when increasing temperature. The same behavior was reported in other papers [ 18 , 65 , 66 ]. Although the allure of the curves is similar, the viscosity is higher as the number of the carbon atoms increases, exemplified for esters B1–B3 in Figure 9 .…”

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“…Epoxidized oils can replace low and average molecular weight epoxy resins and hydroxylated derivatives of palm oil can substitute for bisphenol A in the conventional method of epoxy resin synthesis. Authors also reported the studies on the rheological behavior of a reacting mixture of modified soybean oil and BPA or low-molecular-weight epoxy resin [148]. Lascano et al [149] analyzed the kinetic of the curing process of biobased epoxy resin from epoxidized linseed oil by dynamic differential scanning calorimetry.…”