Polymers from renewable resources. I. Castor oil‐based interpenetrating polymer networks: Thermal and mechanical properties

A number of polyurethanes (PUs) were synthesized by reacting castor oil with toluene‐2,4‐diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate and varying the NCO/OH ratio. All these polyurethanes were reacted with some acrylic monomers like ethyl acrylate, n‐butyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, and butyl methacrylate using a crosslinker ethylene glycol dimethyl‐acrylate and benzoyl peroxide as the initiator. The physicochemical properties of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) are reported. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to study the thermal behavior of IPNs and the evaluation of kinetic parameters. Degradation mechanism has also been investigated. Some of the mechanical properties viz. tensile strength, shore‐A hardness, elongation at break, etc. are also reported.