Thermosetting polymers from cationic copolymerization of tung oil: synthesis and characterization

Abstract

The cationic copolymerization of tung oil with the divinylbenzene comonomer initiated by boron trifluoride diethyl etherate produces promising plastics. The gel times are largely dependent on the relative composition and the reaction conditions and vary from a few seconds to 1 h. Controlled reactions producing homogeneous materials can be obtained by (1) lowering the reaction temperature or (2) decreasing the initiator concentration to less than 1 wt % or (3) adding a certain amount of a less reactive oil, such as soybean oil, low saturation soybean oil (LoSatSoy), or conjugated LoSatSoy to the reaction. The resulting polymers are rigid and dark brown in color. The weight % of the starting materials converted to the crosslinked polymer is approx. 85-98% as determined by Soxhlet extraction with methylene chloride. The structure of the bulk product is that of a crosslinked polymer network plasticized by a small amount of low molecular weight oil. The chemical composition of the bulk polymers varies with the original composition of the tung oil system. Dynamic mechanical analysis shows that the resulting products are typical thermosetting polymers with densely crosslinked structures. The modulus of the plastics is approximately 2.0 × 109 Pa at room temperature. One broad glass transition is observed at approximately 100°C. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the tung oil polymers are thermally stable below 200°C with a 10% weight loss in air around 430°C.