A comparative study of the reactivity of three plant oil methyl esters with divinylbenzene by FTIR spectroscopy

Poly(divinylbenzene) microspheres were prepared by seed swelling polymerization of divinylbenzene in the presence of tung oil methyl esters, linseed oil methyl esters and soybean oil methyl esters, respectively. FTIR spectroscopy was used to characterize the polymers for investigating the reactivity of the three plant oil methyl esters. Results showed that tung oil methyl esters had strongest reactivity with divinylbenzene, and soybean oil methyl esters had weakest reactivity of the three oil methyl esters in the polymerization. These results were related with the fatty acid compositions of the oils.