A renewable tung oil-derived nitrile rubber and its potential use in epoxy-toughening modifiers

In this study, a modifier (CTMA) prepared by emulsion copolymerization of tung oil fatty acid, methyl esters of tung oil fatty acid and acrylonitrile was used to toughen epoxy resins. The structural characterization of the copolymer was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, (1)H NMR spectroscopy and high-temperature gel permeation chromatography. Mechanical testing, thermal characterization and scanning electron microscopy were conducted to investigate the properties of epoxy resin modified by the copolymer and further reveal its toughening mechanism. The results indicated that the newly synthesized copolymer effectively toughened the epoxy resin because the elongation-at-break was increased to 89.48%, the maximum toughness calculated by work before break was nearly 4.6 times that of the neat epoxy resin, and apparent shear yields and plastic deformations were observed in the morphology of the fractured surfaces. CTMA, which acts as a flexible cross-linker in the epoxy thermoset, may decrease the cross-linking density.