Biobased Epoxy Resins

In epoxy materials, some of the conventional diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F has been replaced with functionalized vegetable oils, such as epoxidized linseed oil and epoxidized soybean oil. The materials have been cured using an anhydride based curing agent. 

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A fuUy biobased epoxy resin from vegetable oils From the synthesis of the precursors by thiol-ene reaction to the study of the final material. Journal of Polymer Science Part A Polymer Chemistry, 49(11) 2434—2444. 

Shibata, M., Nakai, K., 2010. Preparation and properties of biocomposifes composed of biobased epoxy resin, tannic acid, and microfibrillated cellulose. Journal of Polymer Science Part B Polymer Physics 48, 425—433. 

Few examples of nanocomposites in which the cellulosic nanostructure is used in biobased thermosets can be also foimd. Due to the fact that these environment friendly composites suffer from several limitations, such as low mechanical properties due to low strength in reinforcement plus inadequate interfacial strength, and that cellulose nanostructures have been shown to have significant potential as a reinforcement, the possibility of using cellulose nanofibers as reinforcements in a bio-derived resin was revised. In Masoodi et al. [200], cellulose nanofibers were used as reinforcements in the forms of layered films, while in Lee et al. [201] the stability of the gas-soybean oil foam templates and the mechanical properties of the polymer nanocomposite foams are enhanced upon the addition of bacterial cellulose nanofibrils. Other examples of biobased thermosets containing cellulosic nanoreinforcements are the work of Shibata [202] in which the use of a biobased epoxy was revised, and systems in which cellulose nanocrystals are incorporated in biobased polyurethanes [203,204], Few examples exist also in the literature on the polymerization of furfuryl alcohol in presence of CNR [205,206] in these papers, the authors established the feasibility of producing furfuryl... 

Classical polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester, and epoxy resin have been combined with biofibers to produce partially biobased composites. However, once these materials are discarded, they persist in the environment without being degraded thus giving rise to ecological and environmental concerns. Recently, the use of a biodegradable polymers itself or blending a classical polymer with a biodegradable polymer as the biocomposite matrix is an alternative approach for the development of an environmentally friendly biocomposite matrix [5, 6]. 

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