ABSTRACT Polymerization of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) catalyzed by superacids, fluroantimonic acid hexahydrate (HSbF6�6H2O) and the anhydrous form (HSbF6)in ethyl acetate was conducted in an effort to develop useful biodegradable polymers from renewable resources. The resulting polymerized ESO was characterized using infrared (IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, solid state 13C-NMR, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The results indicated that ESO was effectively polymerized by fluoroantimonic acid and formed polymers with relatively high crosslink density. Glass transition temperatures of these polymers ranged from -15 �C to -21 �C. TGA results showed the polymers were thermally stable at temperatures up to 200 �C. Decomposition of the polymers was found to occur at temperatures greater than 350 �C. These soybean oil-based polymers will be explored for application in the personal and health care areas.

Application of hydrated and anhydrous fluroantimonic acids in the polymerization of epoxidized soybean oil

246th National Meeting (2013)

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