High-performance bio-based epoxies from ferulic acid and furfuryl alcohol: Synthesis and properties

Jiale Ye, Songqi Ma*^,, Binbo Wang, Qingming Chen, Kaifeng Huang, Xiwei Xu, Qiong Li, Sheng Wang, Na Lu, and Jin Zhu

Lignin derivative ferulic acid was directly functionalized to diepoxy which could be co-cross-linked with furfuryl alcohol-derived monoepoxy to achieve high-performance bio-based thermosets. Development of high-performance bio-based epoxy as sustainable alternative to fossil-sourced bisphenol A epoxy has great significance. In this work, ferulic acid-based diepoxy (FAE) was facilely synthesized through direct reaction with epichlorohydrin. After cross-linking, its thermal and mechanical properties are comparable or even higher than bisphenol A epoxy. The carbon-carbon double bond in the framework of the FAE was also exploited to further upgrade the properties via Diels-Alder reaction with a synthesized glycidyl ether of furfuryl alcohol (GEFA). The chemical structures of FAE and GEFA, curing kinetics as well as the Diels-Alder reaction were characterized in detail. The glass transition temperature of FAE-GEFA systems reached ~250 ℃. This work provides a simple way to achieve high-performance thermosets from ferulic acid, and also offers a promising sustainable alternative to bisphenol A epoxy.

论文链接：https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/gc/d0gc03946b#!divAbstract