Abstract
The copolymerization of styrene (St) with a bioderived monomer, pentadecylphenyl methacrylate (PDPMA), via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was studied in this work. The copolymerization reactivity ratio was calculated using the composition data obtained from 1H NMR spectroscopy, applying Kelen-Tudos and Finemann-Ross methods. The reactivity ratio of styrene (r1 = 0.93) and PDPMA (r2 = 0.05) suggested random copolymerization of the two monomers with alternation. The copolymerization conversion increased with increasing PDPMA concentration of the feed, upto 70 wt % PDPMA, but decreased thereafter. The molecular weight determined by gel permeation chromatography was lower than the theoretical values and the polydispersity increased from 1.32 to 2.19, with increasing PDPMA content in the feed. The influence of styrene content on the glass transition and thermal decomposition behavior of the copolymers was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. Morphological characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed a phase separated soft core-hard shell type structure. The complex viscosity and adhesion properties like peel strength and lap shear strength of the copolymer on different substrates increased with increasing styrene content.
Highlights
Bio-based materials decrease the ecological footprint at every single phases of the product’s life cycle
We have reported the application of controlled radical polymerization methods, like atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), to cardanol based monomers which yielded polymers with novel processability, performance, and its nanocomposite with graphene showing superior adhesion and surfactant properties [36,37,38]
We report the copolymerization of styrene with pentadecylphenylmethacrylate (PDPMA) via ATRP and the effect of styrene content on the conversion, molecular weight, and polydispersity was studied
Summary
Bio-based materials decrease the ecological footprint at every single phases of the product’s life cycle. Global spread of economic development and rapidly rising population are highly demanding towards the world’s resources. The textile, food and plastic packaging industry have attained greater exposure in the core of the sustainability agenda as consumers are directly affected by its utilization. Recycling of bio-based materials should be more based on composting as a terminating procedure and such products will become more attractive. The process development to tailor the physico-chemical properties of bio-based materials to specific end application is a significant tool, like cross-linking the matrix to enhance mechanical strength. It is worth noticing that even if Polymers 2020, 12, 97; doi:10.3390/polym12010097 www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers
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