Synthesis of tung oil-based vinyl ester resin
Anti-corrosion coatings are of great significance for marine equipment and engineering on account of the harsh marine environment. Vinyl ester resin is widely used as a resin material for anti-corrosion coating because of its excellent hardness and protective performance. However, the intrinsic brittleness of vinyl ester resin causes the resulting coating film with poor toughness.
In a new study, the tung oil-based toughen modifier (TOAMA) with a long carbon chain and annular structure is firstly prepared by Diels-Alder reaction of tung oleic acid and maleic anhydride under solvent-free conditions, and then used as a reactive toughening agent to synthesise toughened vinyl ester resin. Furthermore, the toughened vinyl ester resin was used in the anti-corrosion coatings, and the properties of the related cured coating films including thermostability, mechanical performance and corrosion resistance were systematically studied.
TOAMA can effectively toughen vinyl ester resin
The related results display that TOAMA can effectively toughen vinyl ester resin, and the toughened vinyl ester resin prepared with the optimised TOAMA content can effectively improve the mechanical properties including mechanical strength, elongation at break and fracture toughness, and achieve favorable thermal stability and excellent corrosion resistance of the cured coating films.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 170, September 2022.