The unique activity of catalyst in the epoxidation of soybean oil and following reaction of epoxidized product with bisphenol A

• Plants oils modification and application in the synthesis of novel epoxy materials.
• An epoxidation of soybean oil, in a presence of different catalysts.
• The characteristics of obtained products and catalysts activity and processability.
• Catalysts role onto products reactivity in the polyaddition process with bisphenol.

Presented research shows the influence of different catalysts onto the selectivity and efficiency of soybean oil oxidation as well as their influence onto the progress of the further reaction of synthesized epoxidized oil with bisphenol A in the epoxy fusion process. Described experiments involved modification of vegetable oils and innovatory application of obtained products in a synthesis of new bio-based epoxy resins. Presented research respectively describes an epoxidation of soybean oil, in a presence of H2SO4, ion-exchange resins: Amberlyst 15 and Zerolit 325, as well as Zeolite Y and the immobilized enzyme lipase B, Novozym 435, as catalysts, leading to products, which were applied to partially replace petrochemical substrates used in a conventional process of synthesis of epoxy resins. Applied catalysts presented different activity, defined by various epoxy groups contents in the final product, due to which, they can be classify as follow (from the highest to lowest activity): Novozym 435 (EV = 0.384 mol/100 g), H2SO4 (EV = 0.323 mol/100 g), Zerolit 325 (EV = 0.277 mol/100 g), Amberlyst 15 (EV = 0.260 mol/100 g), Zeolite Y (EV = 0.020 mol/100 g). For all catalysts before and after the epoxidation reactions, SEM images were taken and observed changes in the surface structure were analyzed. The products of epoxidation were characterized by epoxy, acidity, iodine and hydroxyl value (reflecting contents of reacted, unconverted and newly created functional groups), along with FT-IR and GPC for defining their chemical structure. The subsequent part of the performed research concentrates on the epoxy resins synthesis throughout the fusion process of epoxidized oil products, obtained in the presence of different catalysts, with bisphenol A, carried out in the presence of LiCl as a polyaddition catalyst. Various courses of that process, depending on the catalyst used in the epoxidation reaction, had been observed. It had been confirmed that even vestigial amount of catalyst, which has not been properly removed from epoxidized product, has significant influence on rapidity of the epoxy fusion process, that could possibly result in its impetuous progress (particularly seen in H2SO4 application) and gelation of synthesized epoxy resin.

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