Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Acrylated Epoxidized-Soybean Oil-Based Thermosets

A series of epoxidized-soybean oil (ESO) with different epoxyl content were synthesized by in situ epoxidation of soybean oil (SBO). The acrylated epoxidized-soybean oil (AESO) was obtained by the reaction of ring opening of ESO using acrylic acid as ring opener. The acrylated expoxidized-soybean oil-based thermosets have been synthesized by bulk radical polymerization of these AESOs and styrene. The thermal properties of the resins were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG). The results showed that these resins possess high thermal stability. There were two glass transition temperature of each resin due to the triglycerides structure of the resins. The tensile strength and impact strength of the resins were also recorded, and the tensile strength and impact strength increased as the iodine value of ESO decreased. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 2220-2775, 2010