Abstract
Biobased monomers and green processes are key to producing sustainable materials. Cardanol, an aromatic compound obtained from cashew nut shells, may be conveniently functionalized, e.g., with epoxy or (meth)acrylate groups, to replace petroleum-based monomers. Photoinduced polymerization is recognized as a sustainable process, less energy intensive than thermal curing; however, cardanol-based UV-cured polymers have relatively low thermomechanical properties, making them mostly suitable as reactive diluents or in non-structural applications such as coatings. It is therefore convenient to combine them with biobased reinforcements, such as microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), to obtain composites with good mechanical properties. In this work a cardanol-based methacrylate monomer was photopolymerized in the presence of MFC to yield self-standing, flexible, and relatively transparent films with high thermal stability. The polymerization process was completed within few minutes even in the presence of filler, and the cellulosic filler was not affected by the photopolymerization process.
Highlights
Sustainable polymer-based materials may be conveniently prepared through the photoinduced curing of biobased monomers [1,2,3]
Photocured biobased polymers often have low thermomechanical properties, which are only suitable for non-structural applications such as coatings or adhesives, and they are mostly used in combination with fossil-based co-monomers or reinforcements [5]
The absence in the spectrum of a broad absorption band above 3100 cm−1 typical of hydroxyls confirmed the replacement of the phenolic OH groups of cardanol by methacrylate groups, which instead gave rise to peaks corresponding to C=O and C=C stretching vibrations at 1723 cm−1 and 1638 cm−1, respectively, and to C=CH2 twisting at 813 cm−1 [9]
Summary
Sustainable polymer-based materials may be conveniently prepared through the photoinduced curing of biobased monomers [1,2,3]. Among the various biobased monomers explored for this application are those derived from vegetable oils such as soybean or linseed oils, from lignin such as vanillin or eugenol, from terpenes, from itaconic acid and succinic acid, etc. UV and two-photon polymerization of biocompatible and appropriately functionalized biobased monomers and oligomers derived from fatty acids, polylactic acid, alginate microgel, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and gelatin, were, e.g., used for injectable viscous materials for implants and hydrogels [8]. Photocured biobased polymers often have low thermomechanical properties, which are only suitable for non-structural applications such as coatings or adhesives, and they are mostly used in combination with fossil-based co-monomers or reinforcements [5].
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