Divanillin-Based Epoxy Precursors as DGEBA Substitutes for Biobased Epoxy Thermosets

Biobased epoxy monomers from divanillyl alcohol were successfully synthesized and characterized. These monomers, that is, diglycidylether of divanillyl alcohol (DiGEDVA), triglycidylether of divanillyl alcohol (TriGEDVA), and tetraglycidyl of divanillyl alcohol (TetraGEDVA), were then cured with cyclo-aliphatic diamine (IPDA), employed as hardener. The vanillin-based epoxy thermosets so-formed were then characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), and tensile tests and were compared to a DGEBA-based reference. These biobased thermosets display phase transition Tα from 140 to 200 °C and have thermal degradation comparable to the DGEBA-based network. This divanillin platform thus appears to be a promising substitute to bisphenol A with the aim at designing high-performance epoxy thermosets for structural composite and adhesive applications.