Producing N-Containing Chemicals from Biomass for High Performance Thermosets

Chemicals containing nitrogen atoms or N-containing chemicals (NCCs) are pivotal building blocks for polymers and composites that have high interest in technological fields, especially when they can be endowed with special properties and new functionalities. To alleviate the dependence on petroleum resources, efforts have focused on sustainable production of NCCs from biomass and its derivatives. In this chapter, production of NCCs from biomass for thermosets are introduced. Thermosets can form highly cross-linked network after curing reactions, and they have been widely applied in the fields of coatings, adhesives, advanced composites and electronic packaging due to their remarkable integrated properties. This chapter provides a systematic overview regarding recent advances in sustainable high-performance thermosets derived from NCCs. Firstly, the origins and access of bio-based feedstocks for NCCs applied in thermoset are discussed. Then, the synthesis and structure-property relationship of epoxy resin, benzoxazine, polyurethane and other typical bio-based thermosets with N-containing chemicals are reviewed. Finally, some thoughts about the future of the synthesis of bio-based thermosets bearing NCCs and their various applications are presented. The objective of this chapter is to help us to have a deeper understanding of the impact of the introduction of NCCs on the properties of polymer materials, thus promoting the rapid development of this field.