Synthesis and characterization of yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) seed oil-based alkyd resin

• The oil content of yellow oleander seed is found to be ∼61.7%.
• Alkyd resins are synthesized by the two-stage alcoholysis–polyesterification method.
• Maleic anhydride plays an important role in altering the properties of the resins.
• Resins show good performance for surface coating applications.

Yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) is an ever-green, ornamental, dicotyledonous shrub belonging to Apocynaceae family. The oil content of its seed was found to be ∼61.7% when extracted with petroleum ether (40–60 °C), which was used as a raw material for synthesis of alkyd resin. Alkyd resins were synthesized by two-stage alcoholysis–polyesterification reaction of this oil with phthalic and maleic anhydride. The synthesized alkyd resins were characterized by FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques. Resins were cured by blending with epoxy resin. The surface characteristic of the cured resins was studied by SEM analysis. The physico-chemical properties of the resins such as acid value, free fatty acid content, iodine value etc. were evaluated. The coating performance of the cured resins was tested by measuring chemical resistance, thermal stability, pencil hardness, gloss and adhesion.