Smart and structural thermosets from the cationic copolymerization of a vegetable oil

Copolymers based on tung oil (TO) and presenting a very wide range of properties were obtained. Depending on the chemical composition, materials fitted for structural or functional applications were prepared. The use of divinylbenzene (DVB) as a comonomer in the cationic polymerization of the triglyceride allowed us to obtain polymers with a high thermal stability in an ample temperature range and with a room‐temperature modulus close to 1 GPa for percentages of TO up to 40 wt % styrene (St) as a partial replacement of DVB in a copolymer containing 50 wt % TO resulted in a material with shape‐memory behavior with switch temperatures in the range 25–40°C. The mechanical properties and shape‐memory behavior of copolymers with different chemical compositions were analyzed. It was observed that an increase in the DVB content increased the glass‐transition temperature and modulus, which was associated with an increase in the crosslinking density and the contribution of the rigid aromatic structure of the comonomer.