Hybrid networks based on epoxidized camelina oil

Abstract

Lately, renewable resources received great attention in the macromolecular compounds area, regarding the design of the monomers and polymers with different applications. In this study the capacity of several modified vegetable oil-based monomers to build competitive hybrid networks was investigate, taking into account thermal and mechanical behavior of the designed materials. In order to synthesize such competitive nanocomposites, the selected renewable raw material, camelina oil, was employed due to the non-toxicity and biodegradability behavior. General properties of epoxidized camelina oil-based materials were improved by loading of different types of organic-inorganic hybrid compounds – polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) bearing one (POSS1Ep) or eight (POSS8Ep) epoxy rings on the cages. In order to identify the chemical changes occurring after the thermal curing reactions, FT-IR spectrometry was employed. The new synthesized nanocomposites based on epoxidized camelina oil (ECO) were characterized by dynamic mechanical analyze and thermogravimetric analyze. The morphology of the ECO-based materials was investigate by scanning electron microscopy and supplementary information regarding the presence of the POSS compounds were establish by energy dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The smooth materials without any separation phase indicates a well dispersion of the Si–O–Si cages within the organic matrix and the incorporation of this hybrid compounds into the ECO network demonstrates to be a well strategy to improve the thermal and mechanical properties, simultaneously.