Bio-based epoxides and methacrylates for coating manufacturing

 
Epoxides and methacrylates have been well-established monomers in coating manufacturing. Due to the limited availability of oil and gas, bio-based monomers have received increased interest to substitute the petrochemical-based monomers. Furthermore, bio-based monomers are advantageous for carbon footprint reduction of the coatings. Oleic acid and phenylpropanoides are interesting starting materials for synthesis of bio-based epoxides and methacrylates because they are available, and they contain various structural elements that may be useful for their functionalization. Polymers made from the bio-based epoxy and methacrylate monomers may be useful as binders for coatings as well. Furthermore, application of light for curing of a coating is a modern energy saving process. Combination of the bio-based epoxides and methacrylates with the photoinitiated polymerization technology may have a big benefit for the development of new coatings with a reduced carbon-footprint that are manufactured by an energy-efficient process.