Non-phthalate plasticizer from camphor for flexible PVC with a wide range of available temperature

A bio-based plasticizer, (1′,7′,7′-trimethyldispiro [ [1,3]dioxolane-2,2′-bicyclo [2.2.1]heptane-3′,2″- [1,3]dioxolane]-4,4″-diyl)bis (methylene) dioctanoate (abbreviated as CDO), was designed to replace a traditional phthalate-based plasticizer. The structure of CDO was analyzed by 1H NMR. The characteristics of CDO plasticizers, which were judged to have excellent compatibility with PVC due to their solubility parameters, were evaluated by thermal and mechanical analyses and compared with dioctylphthalate (DOP). PVC with 20% CDO added was thermally stable up to 251.9 °C and exhibited excellent strength and flexibility with a high Tg derived from its robust and bulky structure. In addition, since CDO is intertwined with the polymer chain, it shows excellent migration properties in many solvents. The results of our study suggest that CDO can be applied to produce flexible PVC and to expand PVC coverage due to the improved migration resistance.

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