Synthesis, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation of Bio‐Based Plasticizer for Polyvinyl Chloride Derived from Tartaric Acid

Abstract The application of plasticizers significantly enhances the flexibility and processability of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials. At present, the mainstream petroleum‐based phthalate plasticizers have raised concerns due to their unsustainability, toxicity and easy migration. The development of new environmentally friendly plasticizers using renewable resources has become a new trend to replace petroleum‐based plasticizers. Tartaric acid (TA) is a renewable resource extractable from plants such as grapes and tamarind. In this study, a new type of branched‐chain tartrate ester (BTA7) plasticizer was synthesized by reacting TA with n ‐heptanol and isobutyric acid through esterification and anhydride capping methods. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile test, microstructure analysis and migration test were used to evaluate its compatibility and plasticizing effect on soft PVC, and comparisons were made with commercially available plasticizers. The Results demonstrate that BTA7's abundant polar groups and optimal alkyl chains effectively plasticize PVC, reducing its glass transition temperature by 90.9% while increasing elongation at break by 451.5%. Compared with petroleum‐based plasticizers, BTA7 is less prone to migrate from the PVC matrix. In conclusion, the plasticizing performance of BTA7 is comparable to or even better than that of commercially available plasticizers, indicating its potential to replace phthalate plasticizers.