Ferulic Acid- and Sinapic Acid-Based Bisphenols: Promising Renewable and Safer Alternatives to Bisphenol A for the Production of Bio-Based Polymers and Resins

Abstract

In the context of fossil resources depletion and ecological concerns, many bio-based aliphatic polymers and materials exhibiting smooth biodegradability have been developed. Nevertheless, the applications of these polymers are limited because of their poor thermomechanical properties and durability. To alleviate these drawbacks, an efficient method has been developed consisting of inserting aromatic subunits into the polymer chain. However many key commercial aromatics are derived from petrochemical feedstocks and are toxic. Much focus has been placed on bio-based aromatic compounds to replace monomers and polymers, such as bisphenol A, methylene diisocyanate, and phenolic resins. In this context, a great deal of effort was dedicated to the development of new aromatic chemical platforms which include ferulic and sinapic acids, two naturally occurring p-hydroxycinnamic acids. Obtained through chemoenzymatic synthetic processes, these bis- and trisphenol platforms have been used for the preparation of renewable aromatic epoxy resins and cyclocarbonates. The curing of the latter with di- and triamines resulted in the corresponding epoxy-amine resins and non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) oligomers, respectively. The structure, thermomechanical properties, and chemical resistance of these novel bio-based materials derived from ferulic and sinapic acids were studied in order to evaluate their potential industrial applications.