Soybean Oil Based Fibers Made Without Solvent or Heat

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Developing sustainable materials is crucial for reducing environmental impact.
• Biobased polymers offer a renewable alternative to petroleum-based plastics.
• Thermoset materials provide excellent thermal and mechanical stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a solvent-free and heat-free method for producing thermoset fibers.
• To utilize biobased monomers, specifically acrylated epoxidized soybean oil, for fiber fabrication.
• To investigate the application of thiol-ene chemistry in creating stable thermoset fibers.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous electrospinning and photocuring of a liquid monomer mixture.
• Utilizing thiol-ene click chemistry for crosslinking.
• Characterization of fiber morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Analysis of photochemical conversion kinetics using real-time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Main Results:

• Production of thermochemically stable thermoset fibers with 50-87 wt% acrylated epoxidized soybean oil.
• Achieved 49-72% biobased carbon content in the fibers.
• Fibers exhibited an average diameter of approximately 30 μm.
• Demonstrated successful photocuring without solvents or heat.

Conclusions:

• Thiol-ene chemistry is effective for producing high-biobased content thermoset fibers.
• The developed method is adaptable to other fiber manufacturing techniques like melt blowing and Forcespinning.
• High-functionality monomers and thiol-ene chemistry are advantageous for creating robust, sustainable fibers.