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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Cationically polymerizable monomers derived from renewable sources

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5190108· OSTI ID:5190108

The objective of this project is to make use of products obtained from renewable plant sources as monomers for the direct production of polymers which can be used for a wide range of plastic applications. In this report is described progress in the synthesis and polymerization of cationically polymerizable monomers and oligomers derived from botanical oils, terpenes, natural rubber, and lignin. Nine different botanical oils were obtained from various sources, characterized and then epoxidized. Their photopolymerization was carried out using cationic photoinitiators and the mechanical properties of the resulting polymers characterized. Preliminary biodegradation studies are being conducted on the photopolymerized films from several of these oils. Limonene was cationically polymerized to give dimers and the dimers epoxidized to yield highly reactive monomers suitable for coatings, inks and adhesives. The direct phase transfer epoxidation of squalene and natural rubber was carried out. The modified rubbers undergo facile photocrosslinking in the presence of onium salts to give crosslinked elastomers. 12 refs., 3 figs., 10 tabs.

Research Organization:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FG02-91ER12117
OSTI ID:
5190108
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/12117-1; ON: DE92000974
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English