Novel thermosets prepared by cationic copolymerization of various vegetable oils - synthesis and their structure-property relationships

A range of thermoset plastics have been prepared by the cationic copolymerization of olive, peanut, sesame, canola, corn, soybean, grapeseed, sunflower, low saturation soy, safflower, walnut, and linseed oils with divinylbenzene or a combination of styrene and divinylbenzene comonomers catalyzed by boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. The chemical, physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of these new polymers have been investigated as a function of the vegetable oil composition. The vegetable oil reactivity has a direct effect on most of the polymers' properties, which can be reasonably predicted by careful choice of the vegetable oil. Coupled with variations in the comonomer and stoichiometry, the choice of vegetable oil allows one to tailor the polymer's properties for specific applications. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.