Novel full bio-based phloroglucinol benzoxazine resin: Synthesis, curing reaction and thermal stability

Recent advances in the development of green furan ring-containing polymeric materials based on renewable plant biomass

Fossil resources are rapidly depleting, forcing researchers in various fields of chemistry and materials science to switch to the use of renewable sources and the development of corresponding technologies. In this regard, the field of sustainable materials science is experiencing an extraordinary surge of interest in recent times due to the significant advances made in the development of new polymers with desired and controllable properties. This review summarizes important scientific reports in recent times dedicated to the synthesis, construction and computational studies of novel sustainable polymeric materials containing unchanged (pseudo)aromatic furan cores in their structure. Linear polymers for thermoplastics, branched polymers for thermosets and other crosslinked materials are emerging materials to highlight. Various polymer blends and composites based on sustainable polyfurans are also considered as pathways to achieve high-value-added products.

Two high toughness and flame retardant DOPO-containing polybenzoxazines based on polyether-urea

In this current work, two new-style DOPO-containing benzoxazines based on polyether-urea were successfully synthesized by a modified version via three-step procedures, and the corresponding polybenzoxazines with high toughness and flame retardancy were obtained by thermal activated polymerization. The single and double DOPO-containing benzoxazines were named as BzD1 and BzD2, respectively. The corresponding polymers followed were named as PBzD1 and PBzD2, respectively. The curing behaviors of the two new benzoxazines were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal and mechanical properties of the materials were evaluated by TGA and dynamic mechanical analysis. The flame retardant properties were elucidated via limiting oxygen index (LOI). The toughness properties were expressed by bending tests. The results showed that the Yc for PBzD1 and PBzD2 were approximately 22.2% and 24%, respectively, distinctively higher than the value 2.57% of pristine polybenzoxazine PBz1, at 800 °C in N2 atmosphere. The Tgs of PBzD1 and PBzD2 distinctly increased by 42.8 °C and 20 °C, respectively, in comparison to −35 °C for pristine PBz1. The LOI values of PBzD1 and PBzD2 were 28.5 and 31, respectively. The length and weight-loss of PBzD1 and PBzD2 samples were significantly less than that of PBz1 when they were burned in the air environmental condition. The burning behavior demonstrated that the flame retardant properties was obviously improved as DOPO was introduced. All of the three specimens of PBz1, PBzD1 and PBzD2 presented excellent flexible property.

Metal Ion-Catalyzed Low-Temperature Curing of Urushiol-Based Polybenzoxazine

In this work, urushiol-based polybenzoxazine is cured by the Lewis acid (FeCl₃, AlCl_3, and CuCl₂) at low temperature instead of high thermal curing temperature. The effect of the Lewis acid on structures and properties of the polymers is revealed. The relating urushiol-based benzoxazine monomer (BZ) was synthesized by natural urushiol, formaldehyde, and n-octylamine. The monomer was reacted with the Lewis acid with a molar ratio of 6:1 (N_monomer: N_Metal) at 80°C to obtain films that can be cured at room temperature. The chemical structures of benzoxazine monomers were identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR). The interaction between the metal ion and the polymers is revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance-FTIR (ATR-FTIR). The effect of the Lewis acid on the mechanical properties, wettability, and thermal stability was investigated. The results show that the benzoxazine cured by Cu²⁺ has a better performance than that cured by Al³⁺ and Fe³⁺.