Environmentally friendly plasticizers for pvc from renewable resources

Abstract

Consulta en la Biblioteca ETSI Industriales (8130)

[EN] Oligoesters were synthesized from renewable resource monomers and tested as new alternative plasticizers for Poly(vinyl Chloride) (PVC). The obtained oligomers were Oligo (Isosorbide Adipate) (PSA), Isosorbide Dihexanoate (SDH) and Oligo (Isosorbide Suberate) (PSS) were formed by means of condensation reaction of Isosorbide with an acid substance. Also, with the Oligo (Isosorbide Adipate) were carried out modifications, different parameters such as distillation time changes and different reagents were tested (Dimethyl Adipate in place of Adipic Acid to react with Isosorbide). Later, the new plasticizers were solution cast with Poly (vinyl chloride) in different weight proportions to study the effects of chemical structure, molecular weight, endgroup functionality and chain architecture on plasticizing efficiency. Their mechanical and thermal properties were analyzed with the tensile testing and glass transition temperature was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). As expected, desirable mechanical properties were achieved in flexible PVC films containing 40 wt % of plasticizer. The analysis of the films surface was done through Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to study the structural performe and micro-morphological characterization of the blends and to observe if there were some crystals. With the study of the molecular structure and molar mass by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared specroscopy (FTIR) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) of the different plasticizers, it was checked that the course of a chemical reaction and the association of compounds in solution have been led correctly. Modifications in the distillation time of Oligo (Isosorbide Adipate) (PSA) was carried out to check if there were some important changes in the properties of the oligomer or the resulting PVC blends. Moreover, the aging of the films was analyzed to see what happened. The importance of the glass transition temperature was observed too, since the behaviour of some films was affected due to work at room temperature because their glass transition temperature was above this temperature.