Design and Synthesis of Bio-Based Benzoxazines

Polybenzoxazine (PBz) resins are a new type of high-performance synthetic resins that are attractive alternatives to traditional resins. Their properties include near-zero shrink age upon polymerization, fast evolution of mechanical properties with the conversion, glass transition temperatures much higher than curing temperatures, low water absorp tion, and excellent dielectrical and mechanical properties. The development of polyben - zoxazines has always been linked to petro-based feedstocks, but for the last 5 years, the number of studies related to bio-based benzoxazines is exploding as a consequence of the versatility of the design of the chemical structure of their monomers. Benzoxazine (Bz) monomers are subjected to cationic ring-opening polymerization (ROP), activated by a thermal treatment in the range of 160–250°C. In addition, Bz synthesis promotes the use of naturally occurring phenolic compounds instead of petroleum-based ones to develop high-performance materials from renewable resources and to fit to REACH restrictions. For this purpose, vanillin, eugenol, and cardanol are examples of bio-phenols bridged with several kinds of aromatic and aliphatic diamines. In this chapter, the synthesis and the properties of di-functional benzoxazine monomers prepared from naturally occur - ring phenolic compounds are reviewed. Symmetric and asymmetric monomers will be detailed. The last part of the chapter is dedicated to the use of bio-phenols to functional - ize polymers and to provide benzoxazine functional groups.