Presentation
Synthesis and Characterization of Betulin-based Thermoplastics and Thermosets
Proceedings of the Virtual 2021 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo
(2021)
Abstract
Betulin, a fully aliphatic diol, is a naturally occurring triterpenoid that can be extracted from the bark of birch trees. Due to its rigid pentacyclic structure and biological and pharmacological properties, betulin was studied as a bio-based monomer for preparing synthetic polymers. Here, betulin-based thermoplastics were synthesized using a melt polycondensation procedure with succinic acid, adipic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, and 1,18-octadecanedioic acid. Successful synthesis for each polymer was confirmed using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. These thermoplastics exhibited weight average molecular weights that ranged from 7,500 g mol−1 to 60,300 g mol−1 and displayed glass transition temperatures ranging between 48 °C to 214 °C. Young’s moduli and tensile strengths exceeded 600 MPa and 9 MPa, respectively. Additionally, glycerol was used for the formation of crosslinked betulin-based thermosets. These thermosets exhibited storage moduli at 25 °C ranging from 2.0 to 780 MPa. Thermoset glass transition temperatures ranged from 26 °C to 130 °C. Both thermoplastics and thermosets were thermally stable at temperatures greater than 300 °C in both nitrogen and air atmospheres. This work demonstrates the viability of utilizing betulin to prepare polyesters with potentially 100% bio-based content for a variety of applications.
Disciplines
Publication Date
May 3, 2021
DOI
10.21748/AM21.77
Citation Information
Alexandra Chong, Silvio Curia, Melissa Gordon, Lindsay Soh, et al.. "Synthesis and Characterization of Betulin-based Thermoplastics and Thermosets" Proceedings of the Virtual 2021 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo (2021) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/joseph-stanzione/25/