High-performance castor oil-based polyurethane thermosets: Facile synthesis and properties

With the growing concern on the shortage of fossil resources and the environmental problems associated with their use, vegetable oils as renewable resources are important alternatives to fossil resources. Here, we used castor oil to synthesize 1-thioglycerol modified castor oil polyol with ultra-high hydroxyl value up to 463 mg KOH g(-1) via a solvent-free thiol-olefin click reaction. The cross-linked polyurethanes were prepared from this polyol in a solvent-free and catalyst-free manner, and exhibited high tensile strength of similar to 83 MPa and T-g of similar to 124 degrees C, much higher than other reported vegetable oil-based polyurethanes. Besides, the obtained polyurethanes exhibited excellent coating and optical properties, much better than the polyurethane from the unmodified castor oil. This work provides a green and high-efficient method of synthesizing vegetable oil-based polyol with ultra-high hydroxyl value to construct high-performance polyurethanes, which will expand the application of vegetable oil-based polymers.

Automated summary

With concerns over the scarcity of fossil resources and their associated environmental problems, vegetable oils have become important alternatives as renewable resources. In this study, castor oil was utilized to synthesize 1-thioglycerol modified castor oil polyol with an ultra-high hydroxyl value. Solvent-free thiol-olefin click reaction was employed for this synthesis. The resulting cross-linked polyurethanes exhibited superior mechanical properties and optical performance compared to other vegetable oil-based polyurethanes, making them potential alternatives for various applications.