Biopolymers and Bioplastics

Biography

Biography: Andriy Voronov

Abstract

Most currently available syntheses of polymers from plant oils are limited to polycondensation and oxypolymerization. Both mechanisms result in formation of exclusively cross-linked polymers, widely applicable in industrial coatings. Because of highly hydrophobic nature of triglyceride molecules, the development of waterborne polymeric materials (in particular, latexes) from plant oils has been challenging. One-step method converts fatty acid esters of vegetable oils into bio-based acrylic monomers for free radical polymerization. While the vinyl bond of these monomers is reactive in conventional addition chain polymerization and facilitates macromolecular chain growth, the double bonds of the fatty acid chains are unaffected during the free radical polymerization. Currently exemplified for soybean, linseed, sunflower and olive oil (possessing remarkably different compositions of fatty acids in triglycerdies) monomers can be applied in the production of latexes that utilize acrylic monomers and polymers. The plant oil-based monomers offer unique functionality due to nature of double bonds, which allows forming linear macromolecules as well as “on-demand’ cross-linking, and provides an ability to tune final material properties, including hydrophobicity. The reactivity ratios of the synthesized monomers in free radical copolymerization with petroleum-based counterparts, as well as theirs Q-e parameters, indicate that new monomers behave in copolymerization as conventional vinyl monomers. The resulting copolymers are capable of post-polymerization oxidative reactions to form cross-linked polymer structures, or of modification of unsaturated fatty acid chains. Specifically, degree of unsaturation in fatty acids was utilized as a criterion for comparing monomers behavior in addition chain polymerization and copolymerization to yield biobased polymer latexes.