Petro‐based and bio‐based plasticizers: Chemical structures to plasticizing properties

TLDR

Polymeric materials, especially PVC, are widely used in industry thanks to plasticizers added during processing, but migration, health, and environmental concerns have prompted the development of alternative bio‑based plasticizers derived from renewable resources. This review details petro‑based plasticizers, particularly phthalates, and analyzes bio‑based plasticizer structures to predict their efficiency and guide the design of new molecular and macromolecular plasticizers. The authors compile and examine the chemical groups and substituents of bio‑based plasticizers—ester groups, alkyl chains, aromatic rings—to model plasticizing efficiency and inform new plasticizer design. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Polymeric materials, in particular PVC, can find various industrial utilizations thanks to the use of plasticizers added during their processing. The most famous applications include wires and cables, coatings, flooring, paintings, packaging… After some generalities concerning plasticization theories and the description of plasticized petro‐ and bio‐based polymers, this review details the well‐known different petro‐based plasticizers and more particularly phthalates which represent the most important category of PVC plasticizers. Owing to migration problems, impact on the human health and the environment, alternative candidates have been developed by researchers. Renewable resources and their wastes offer a large platform for the design of bio‐based plasticizers using polysaccharidic or lipidic structures. In an in‐depth analysis, the bio‐based plasticizer structures, their groups and substituents (ester groups, alkyl chains, aromatic rings…) are gathered and examined in order to be able to predict their plasticizing efficiency and design new molecular and macromolecular plasticizers from natural resources. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54 , 11–33