Catalyzed crosslinking of highly functional biobased epoxy resins

Crosslinking reactions involving epoxy homopolymerization of 100% biobased epoxidized sucrose esters (ESEs) were studied and the resulting coatings properties were compared against epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and petrochemical-based soybean fatty acid ester resins. The low viscosity of ESE resins allowed for formulations to be developed with minimal volatile organic content. ESEs were found to have superior coatings properties, compared to ESO and the petrochemical-based soybean esters, attributable to a higher glass transition temperature (T _g) and a higher modulus. The rigid sucrose core on ESEs provided an increase in coating performance when compared to coatings from epoxidized resins synthesized with tripentaeryithritol as a core. The degree of conversion and optimization of the curing conditions were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermal analysis of cured coatings was performed using DSC, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. In order to further enhance the coatings properties, small amounts of bisphenol A epoxy resin were added which resulted in higher moduli and T _gs.