A renewable bisepoxide, SYR-EPO, was prepared from syringaresinol, a naturally occurring bisphenol deriving from sinapic acid, by using a chemo-enzymatic synthetic pathway. Estrogenic activity tests revealed no endocrine disruption for syringaresinol. Its glycidylation afforded SYR-EPO with excellent yield and purity. This biobased, safe epoxy precursor was then cured with conventional and renewable diamines for the preparation of epoxy-amine resins. The resulting thermosets were thermally and mechanically characterized. Thermal analyses of these new resins showed excellent thermal stabilities (Td5 % =279-309 °C) and Tg ranging from 73 to 126 °C, almost reaching the properties of those obtained with the diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), extensively used in the polymer industry (Td5 % =319 °C and Tg =150 °C for DGEBA/isophorone diamine resins). Degradation studies in NaOH and HCl aqueous solutions also highlighted the robustness of the syringaresinol-based resins, similar to bisphenol A (BPA). All these results undoubtedly confirmed the potential of syringaresinol as a greener and safer substitute for BPA.
Keywords: DGEBA; bisepoxide; bisphenol A; resin; syringaresinol.
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