Suberin from Cork as a Tough Cross-Linker in Bioepoxy Resins
Charlotte Menager, Nathanaël Guigo, Luc Vincent, Nicolas Sbirrazzuoli
Abstract
The cross-linking between epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) and suberin has been investigated. Suberin is the major component of cork which can be extracted by hydrolysis. In this study, ELO was cross-linked with suberin with the aim to make fully biobased and nontoxic thermosets without addition of catalysts and to valorize cork coproducts. Polymerization mechanisms were investigated by Fourier transform infrared, rheology, and advanced isoconversional kinetic analysis. Finally, thermomechanical properties have been studied by thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile tests. These experiments highlight that cross-linked ELO/suberin films have a wide relaxation temperature range and a tunable glass transition temperature (Tg) between 57 and 66 °C depending of the suberin ratio in the reaction medium.