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Environmentally Friendly Radiation Hard d ‐Limonene and Laccol Copolymers Synthesized via Cationic Copolymerization
Author(s) -
Arachchilage Imalka H. A. M.,
Patel Milly K.,
Basi Joseph,
Harmon Julie P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.25319
Subject(s) - copolymer , cationic polymerization , materials science , limonene , environmentally friendly , polymer , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , waste management , polymer chemistry , chemistry , composite material , engineering , essential oil , ecology , chromatography , biology
In the modern world, petroleum‐based synthetic polymers have a great number of applications in fields ranging from food packaging to space travel. However, the processing of petroleum products and the resulting depletion of fossil fuels are major environmental concerns in today's society. As a result, the development of sustainable polymers which are made up of renewable resources and waste products is an immerging area of research. Considering the world food production, citrus fruit is most abundant and its contribution to waste generation is immense. Therefore, this study focuses on offering an alternative to the use of petroleum‐based polymers and also providing a regulatory pathway to manage citrus waste by developing novel copolymers of laccol and limonene. Two environmentally friendly compounds, laccol, derived from the sap of Toxicodendron succedaneum tree and limonene, extracted from orange peels, were copolymerized via cationic polymerization to generate d ‐limonene:laccol copolymers with radiation hardening capabilities which is relevant in fields such as nuclear energy generation, medicinal sterilization, commercial irradiation, and space exploration. Formation of these copolymers was verified with infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The synthesized copolymers were characterized using different methods and exposed to Co‐60 gamma radiation to identify alterations to their properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60:607–618, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers