Biodegradable Polymeric Foams Based on Modified Castor Oil, Styrene, and Isobornyl Methacrylate

The environmental issues of petroleum-derived polymeric foams have necessitated seeking renewable alternatives. This work aims to prepare renewable free-radically polymerized polymeric foams with the ability to biodegrade. Furthermore, this work attempted to incorporate a bio-based reactive diluent, which has not been reported in the literature. The synthesis of maleated castor oil glycerides was performed with products analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry using attenuated total reflection (ATR-FTIR) and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectroscopy. Polymeric foams were prepared using maleated castor oil glycerides via free radical copolymerization with styrene and isobornyl methacrylate as reactive diluents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine anisotropic macrocellular morphology, with log-normal cell diameter distributions. The compressive mechanical and energy absorption properties were investigated; the polymeric foams displayed Young’s modulus up to 26.85 ± 1.07 MPa and strength up to 1.11 ± 0.021 MPa using styrene as the reactive diluent, and Young’s modulus up to 1.38 ± 0.055 MPa and strength up to 0.088 MPa when incorporating isobornyl methacrylate. Furthermore, a thorough analysis of the cellular structure–property relationships was performed, indicating relationships to cell diameter, cell wall thickness and apparent density. The polymeric foams displayed rapid mass loss in an aerobic soil environment with multiple erosion sites revealed by SEM. In conclusion, renewable polymeric foams with excellent compressive properties were achieved using styrene as reactive diluent, but the incorporation of isobornyl methacrylate decreased strength-related properties.