Soybean Oil-based Polymers and Their Composites

Abstract

Soybean oil (SO) plays the most prominent role in the synthesis of polymer materials among all vegetable oils. SO has an average number of double bonds of 4.6 per triglyceride. Therefore, SO has been widely used as a raw material to synthesize biobased polymers such as epoxy, polyurethane, and vinyl esters. This chapter summarizes the recent advances in the preparation strategies of SO-based thermosets and their biocomposites. The synthesis methods of SO-based polyurethane, vinyl esters, and epoxy thermosets are classified and introduced. Two commercially available products, i.e., epoxidized soybean oil and acrylated epoxidized soybean oil, are focused on due to their great potential application prospects in industry. The introduced biocomposites were prepared from SO-based thermosets as matrices and SO derivatives as interfacial compatibilizers. The key scientific and technological challenges of using SO in polymers and composites are reviewed.