Further investigation on fatty acids-based methacrylate monomers: High temperature radical polymerization for obtaining copolymers and their blends with medium-oil alkyd resin for coatings

Abstract

Fatty acids-based methacrylate monomers have been studied as alternative renewable raw materials for the synthesis of poly(acrylate)s. In this research work, several poly(acrylate)s based on lauric, oleic, linoleic and tall oil fatty acids were obtained by high temperature solution polymerization since it is a process extensively used at industrial scale. The effect of the presence and increase of the aforementioned fatty acids-based methacrylate monomers on the conversion as a function of polymerization time and actual monomer composition in the copolymer were studied, thus inferring that the fatty acid chain length is of paramount importance for the final macromolecular features. The resulting poly(acrylate)s were evaluated as individual and blended with a medium-oil alkyd resin with the aim of balancing the advantages of both, such as low drying, mechanical performance, and chemical resistance, in order to indirectly produce economically viable resins for the industrial coating market.