Smart and structural thermosets from cationic copolymerization of a vegetable oil

MEIORIN, C; ARANGUREN, MIRTA I.; MOSIEWICKI, MIRNA A.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE

JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Año: 2012 vol. 124 p. 5071 - 5078

0021-8995

ABSTRACT:  Copolymers based on tung oil (TO) and presenting a very wide range of properties were obtained. Depending on the chemical composition, materials fitted for structural or functional applications were prepared.  The use of divinylbenzene (DVB) as a comonomer in the cationic polymerization of the triglyceride allowed us to obtain polymers with a high thermal stability in an ample temperature range and with a room-temperature modulus close to 1 GPa for percentage of TO up to 40 wt%. Styrene as a partial replacement of DVB in a copolymer containing 50 wt% TO resulted in a material with shape memory behavior with switch temperatures in the range 25-40°C. The mechanical properties and shape-memory behavior of copolymers with different chemical compositions were analyzed. It was observed that an increase in the DVB content increased the glass-transition temperature and modulus, which was associated with an increase in the crosslinking density and the contribution of the rigid aromatic structure of the comonomer.    Keywords: cationic polymerization; copolymers; mechanical properties; renewable resources.