Rigid thermosetting liquid moulding resin from sunflower oil

271-276Sunflower oil monoglyceride (SFOM) has been prepared by transesterification of sunflower oil with glycerine in the temperature range 200-230oC using sol-gel prepared nanocrystalline MgO as catalyst. The catalyst has been characterized by powder XRD, BET surface area measurement and atomic force microscopy. The resulting SFOM has been reacted with maleic anhydride to produce SFOM maleate half esters, using 2-methly imidazole as the catalyst. The effect of the catalyst concentration is optimized. Finally, the polyfunctional SFOM maleate half ester monomer is free radically copolymerized with reactive diluents such as styrene to produce hard, thermosetting liquid moulding resin. The polymer is characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and IR spectroscopic techniques