Epoxy thermosets for wood protective coatings

The new paper deals with the characterisation of a green thermoset based on epoxidised soybean oil (ESO), castor oil maleic anhydride adduct (COMA) and methyl nadic anhydride (MNA). By varying the MNA/COMA crosslinking agent ratio, resins with different degree of stiffness can be obtained suitable for green thermosets coatings. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a simultaneous TG/FT-IR/MS coupling were used to establish the crosslinking behavior, evolved gases analysis and thermal decomposition mechanisms associated with their corresponding kinetic parameters. The non–isothermal global kinetic parameters values (activation energy and pre–exponential factor) were calculated with the aid of the Friedman and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa isoconversional methods.

Decay resistance

The curves shape of the variation of activation energy versus conversion degree and first derivative (DTG) curves shapes suggest that the thermal degradation processes occurred in multi-step kinetics. Using a multivariate linear regression method the most probable thermal decomposition and crosslinking kinetic models were established. A good concordance between experimental and simulated data was obtained, confirming the correct description of the thermal mechanisms. The main identified gaseous fragments were water, carbon dioxide, saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons and carboxylic derivatives. The decay resistance against two wood decaying strains, P. chrysogenum and A. brasiliensis was also evaluated.

The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 163, February 2022.