Aromatics from Lignocellulosic Biomass: A Platform for High-Performance Thermosets

Renewable and sustainable thermosets with thermo-mechanical properties that are equivalent to, or better than, those of petroleum-derived commercial incumbents are desirable to mitigate environmental and human health impacts. Current bioderivable or biobased thermosets typically are aliphatic/cycloaliphatic and lack the robust structural features necessary to generate materials competitive with those made from conventional aromatics such as bisphenol A. Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is the most abundant, renewable feedstock for the production of platform aromatic chemicals (e.g., phenolics from lignin, furanics from cellulosics) which are ideal as sustainable, biobased alternatives to petroleum-derived constituents for high-performance applications. This Perspective provides an overview of LCB-derivable aromatic monomers, including epoxies, cyanate esters, vinyl esters, benzoxazines, and cyclic carbonates, and it benchmarks the corresponding materials against commercially available thermosets. Furthermore, green synthesis approaches to minimize environmental impacts, robust processing methods to increase versatility, structure–property relationships to guide materials design, and life-cycle management strategies to improve the recyclability of thermosets are discussed, along with additional avenues to advance the commercial relevance of biobased thermosets. For instance, the positive impacts of the inherent functionality in biobased monomers on toxicity and environmental considerations, as well as opportunities to leverage the synergies between experimental and computational activities, are highlighted.