Issue 9, 2024

Lignin-derivable, thermoplastic, non-isocyanate polyurethanes with increased hydrogen-bonding content and toughness vs. petroleum-derived analogues

Abstract

The functionality inherent in lignin-derivable bisguaiacols/bissyringols can improve the processability and performance of the resulting polymers. Herein, non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) were synthesized from bisguaiacols/bissyringols with varying degrees of methoxy substitution and differing bridging groups. Notably, the presence of increasing numbers of methoxy groups (0, 2, and 4) in bisphenol F (BPF)-, bisguaiacol F (BGF)-, and bissyringol F (BSF)-NIPUs led to higher percentages of hydrogen-bonded –OH/–NH groups (i.e., ∼65%, ∼85%, ∼95%, respectively). Increased hydrogen bonding between chains improved the elongation-at-break (εbreak) and toughness of lignin-derivable NIPUs over their petroleum counterparts without a reduction in Young's moduli and tensile strengths. For example, BSF-NIPU exhibited the highest εbreak ∼210% and toughness ∼62 MJ m−3, followed by BGF-NIPU (εbreak ∼185% and toughness ∼58 MJ m−3), and then BPF-NIPU (εbreak ∼140% and toughness ∼42 MJ m−3). Similar trends were found in the dimethyl-substituted analogues, particularly for the bisphenol A-NIPU and bisguaiacol A-NIPU. Importantly, the melt rheology of the lignin-derivable NIPUs was comparable to that of the petroleum-derived analogues, with a slightly lower viscosity (i.e., improved melt flow) for the bio-derivable NIPUs. These findings suggested that the added functionalities (methoxy groups) derived from lignin precursors improved thermomechanical stability while also offering increased processability. Altogether, the structure–property-processing relationships described in this work can help facilitate the development of sustainable, performance-advantaged polymers.

Graphical abstract: Lignin-derivable, thermoplastic, non-isocyanate polyurethanes with increased hydrogen-bonding content and toughness vs. petroleum-derived analogues

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Janv. 2024
Accepted
19 Marts 2024
First published
02 Apr. 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Mater. Adv., 2024,5, 3950-3964

Lignin-derivable, thermoplastic, non-isocyanate polyurethanes with increased hydrogen-bonding content and toughness vs. petroleum-derived analogues

J. S. Mahajan, Z. R. Hinton, E. Nombera Bueno, T. H. Epps, III and L. T. J. Korley, Mater. Adv., 2024, 5, 3950 DOI: 10.1039/D4MA00039K

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