Degradable epoxy resins derived from α-terpineol: synthesis, characterization and application in thermally conductive adhesives

Growing environmental concerns are driving the development of bio-based and recyclable thermosetting polymers. In this work, we synthesized a novel liquid cycloaliphatic epoxide containing silyl ether bonds from α-terpineol, a renewable monoterpene alcohol. After optimizing the accelerator content, the epoxy resin cured with methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride exhibited a high glass transition temperature (172 °C) and an acceptable tensile strength (57.2 MPa), the presence of silyl ether bonds imparts the resin with inherent degradability in fluoride and acidic organic solutions, offering a pathway for recycling. Finally, the optimized epoxy system was used to prepare a thermally conductive adhesive with boron nitride (BN) as the filler. The resulting epoxy composite 35 wt% BN, exhibited an enhanced thermal conductivity of 1.298 W/m·K. Crucially, the high-value BN fillers could be recovered non-destructively through selective chemical recycling of the epoxy matrix.