UV‐cured epoxy‐acrylate interpenetrating polymer networks with different contents of epoxidized soybean oil

Abstract This work aims to study the effect of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) concentration on the process of formation and characteristics of UV‐cured ternary epoxy‐acrylate interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs). Whereas the amount of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) keeps constant, the one of ESO incorporated to substitute the respective quantity of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) is equal to 10, 20, and 30 parts by weight (pbw). A total of 30 pbw of ESO is found to be the most effective content for altering the conversion degree of epoxy groups and for enhancing the impact resistance of cured materials while providing their transparency. The addition of ESO induces the decrease in cross‐linking density and in the values of glass transition temperature. The samples exhibite good water and chemical resistance with some variations dependent on their composition. Thermooxidative stability of the specimens gradually reduces as the content of aromatic epoxy decreases. Overall, the introduction of ESO into epoxy‐acrylate IPNs not only lessens the fraction of synthetic epoxide but also facilitates the photopolymerization process of DGEBA and diminishes its brittleness. Considering fine atmospheric resistance testified by accelerated weathering test, given materials may be purposed as transparent films or protective coatings for both indoor and outdoor applications.