Synthesis and performance evaluation of novel soybean oil-based plasticisers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Abstract

Novel bio-based plasticisers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are a significant and growing area of interest. These compounds aim to replace toxic and petrochemical additives in commonly used plastic products. Plasticisers can comprise as much as 50% of the total mass of the PVC product. Epoxidised soybean oil (ESBO) is a commercially available bio-based plasticizer that is typically used at lower levels than traditional phthalates in PVC compounds because it does not show equivalent performance to existing phthalate plasticisers. Four derivatives of ESBO have been synthesized through reaction at the epoxide rings. These compounds have been evaluated in PVC formulations and compared to current petrochemical plasticisers, as well as ESBO. The product of methoxy polyethylene glycol and ESBO shows good plasticising ability, giving a PVC compound with higher tensile strength and elongation than dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and a lower glass transition temperature (Tg) than with the use of ESBO.