Issue 10, 2015 - Research on bio-based thermosetting resins has progressed in series

With the increasingly extensive and in-depth research on bio-based polymer materials, bio-based thermosetting resins, as an important category of bio-based polymer materials, have gradually been accepted and valued
by everyone.
However, how to achieve high performance, functionalization and applicability of bio-based platform compounds through their selection, molecular structure design and regulation has always been a difficult problem
.

The research team of bio-based polymer materials of Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences has taken the lead in laying out and carrying out the research direction of bio-based thermosetting resins in China, and in recent years, it has made a series of progress
in the research of high-performance bio-based epoxy resins based on rosin acid, vegetable oil, itaconic acid, soybean protein, etc.

Itaconic acid, also known as methylene succinic acid, is considered to be a bio-based platform compound
with broad application prospects due to its special chemical structure, low price and mature biological fermentation production process 。 Using it as raw material, the bio-based polymer materials research team of Ningbo Institute of Materials successfully obtained EIA with glass transition temperature, tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus reaching 130.
4 °C, 87.
5 MPa, 152.
4 MPa and 3400 MPa by adjusting its epoxidation degree and active functional group density, respectively, and achieved controllable and adjustable comprehensive performance through the double curing of epoxy ring opening and double bond polymerization.
Through direct epoxidation of double bonds, trifunctional bio-based fatty epoxy resin TEIA was synthesized.
At the same time, it achieves high epoxy value, very low viscosity and high thermodynamic properties
.
The resin exhibits better thermodynamic properties and processability
than ordinary petroleum-based epoxy resins.
By hydrocarbon addition, 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenant-10-oxide is grafted to itaconic acid epoxy resin to obtain a phosphorus-containing epoxy resin EADI with self-flame retardant properties, which can be used alone for self-flame retardant resin or active epoxy resin flame retardant
.
(Raw)