A fully bio-based epoxy resin with excellent mechanical properties combines flame retardancy and degradability

Traditional epoxy resins are made from non-renewable fossil resources, which are difficult to reprocess and recycle, and their flammability makes them unsafe during use. In this experiment, an epoxy resin containing Schiff base (TA-VAN-EP) was synthesized successfully with biomass-derived raw materials. This new material not only had favorable mechanical properties but also had good flame retardancy and degradation properties. The chemical structure of TA-VAN-EP was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Its mechanical properties, thermal stability, flame-retardant properties, and other properties were tested. The results showed that, compared with the pure epoxy resin (EP), the mechanical properties of TA-VAN-EP were significantly improved, and the glass transition temperature ( T g ) was increased from 152°C to 190°C. Additionally, TA-VAN-EP reached a V-1 rating during the UL-94 test, and the limited oxygen index (LOI) value increased from 24.7% to 28.4%. Also, the total heat release (THR), smoke production rate (SPR), and total smoke release (TSR) decreased extremely. Moreover, TA-VAN-EP demonstrated good degradation performance under acidic conditions. In conclusion, this work provided a new idea for the production of bio-based flame-retardant epoxy resin with promising degradable abilities and mechanical properties.