Macromolecules Derived from Vegetable Oils

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 3569

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Technological Institute of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Plaza Ferrandiz y Carbonell s/n, Alcoy, Alicante, Spain
Interests: mechanical properties; polymers; composites; surface modification; biodegradable and biocompatible polymers; atmospheric plasma
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Technological Institute of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Plaza Ferrandiz y Carbonell s/n, 03801 Alcoy, Spain
Interests: biodegradable polymers; recycling; natural additives; biocomposites; polymer compatibilization; polymer rheology;surface modification fillers; thermal and mechanical properties
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The current situation caused by the use of fossil-based materials has increased greenhouse gas emissions, wastes in landfills and marine pollution, among other environmental and health problems. The need to find ecological alternatives has put the focus of attention on vegetable oils. Their high availability, relatively low cost, non-toxicity, and great versatility make them promising candidates. The possibility of chemically modifying their structure based on triglycerides means that they can be used in a large number of applications, for example, as plasticizers, compatibilizers, surfactants, stabilizers, reactive diluents or in the development of new thermoset polymers. This could widen the potential use of these materials in industrial sectors such as packaging, bio-based thermoplastic and thermoset polymers, automotive, construction and building and other specialized sectors such as medicine, cosmetics, electrical and electronics, among others.

This Special Issue aims to compile original and cutting-edge research works on the chemical modification, characterization, manufacturing and industrial applications of vegetable oils.

Dr. Vicent Fombuena Borràs
Dr. José Miguel Ferri
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 6533 KiB  
Article
Novel Epoxidized Brazil Nut Oil as a Promising Plasticizing Agent for PLA
by Aina Perez-Nakai, Alejandro Lerma-Canto, Ivan Dominguez-Candela, Jose Miguel Ferri and Vicent Fombuena
Polymers 2023, 15(9), 1997; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15091997 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1430
Abstract
This work evaluates for the first time the potential of an environmentally friendly plasticizer derived from epoxidized Brazil nut oil (EBNO) for biopolymers, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA). EBNO was used due to its high epoxy content, reaching an oxirane oxygen content of [...] Read more.
This work evaluates for the first time the potential of an environmentally friendly plasticizer derived from epoxidized Brazil nut oil (EBNO) for biopolymers, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA). EBNO was used due to its high epoxy content, reaching an oxirane oxygen content of 4.22% after 8 h of epoxidation for a peroxide/oil ratio of 2:1. Melt extrusion was used to plasticize PLA formulations with different EBNO contents in the range of 0–10 phr. The effects of different amounts of EBNO in the PLA matrix were studied by performing mechanical, thermal, thermomechanical, and morphological characterizations. The tensile test demonstrated the feasibility of EBNO as a plasticizer for PLA by increasing the elongation at break by 70.9% for the plasticized PLA with 7.5 phr of EBNO content in comparison to the unplasticized PLA. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) of the fractured surfaces from the impact tests showed an increase in porosity and roughness in the areas with EBNO addition, which was characteristic of ductile failure. In addition, a disintegration test was performed, and no influence on the PLA biodegradation process was observed. The overall results demonstrate the ability of EBNO to compete with other commercial plasticizers in improving the ductile properties of PLA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromolecules Derived from Vegetable Oils)
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17 pages, 4114 KiB  
Article
Epoxidized and Maleinized Hemp Oil to Develop Fully Bio-Based Epoxy Resin Based on Anhydride Hardeners
by Alejandro Lerma-Canto, Maria D. Samper, Ivan Dominguez-Candela, Daniel Garcia-Garcia and Vicent Fombuena
Polymers 2023, 15(6), 1404; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15061404 - 11 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1741
Abstract
The present work aims to develop thermosetting resins using epoxidized hemp oil (EHO) as a bio-based epoxy matrix and a mixture of methyl nadic anhydride (MNA) and maleinized hemp oil (MHO) in different ratios as hardeners. The results show that the mixture with [...] Read more.
The present work aims to develop thermosetting resins using epoxidized hemp oil (EHO) as a bio-based epoxy matrix and a mixture of methyl nadic anhydride (MNA) and maleinized hemp oil (MHO) in different ratios as hardeners. The results show that the mixture with only MNA as a hardener is characterized by high stiffness and brittleness. In addition, this material is characterized by a high curing time of around 170 min. On the other hand, as the MHO content in the resin increases, the mechanical strength properties decrease and the ductile properties increase. Therefore, it can be stated that the presence of MHO confers flexible properties to the mixtures. In this case, it was determined that the thermosetting resin with balanced properties and high bio-based content contains 25% MHO and 75% MNA. Specifically, this mixture obtained a 180% higher impact energy absorption and a 195% lower Young’s modulus than the sample with 100% MNA. Also, it has been observed that this mixture has significantly shorter times than the mixture containing 100% MNA (around 78 min), which is of great concern at an industrial level. Therefore, thermosetting resins with different mechanical and thermal properties can be obtained by varying the MHO and MNA content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromolecules Derived from Vegetable Oils)
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