Epoxy resins without BPA

A biobased bisphenol can be used to prepare renewable epoxy-amine resins, eliminating the need to use potenially-toxic bisphenol A, chemists report (ChemSusChem 2017, DOI:10.1002/cssc.201601595). BPA is a petroleum-based endocrine disruptor and has been banned by the Food & Drug Administration for use in children’s product packaging. Epoxies, with their hardy chemical and thermal properties, are ubiquitous, used in materials such as electronics and insulators. Scientists have been avidly looking for substitutes for BPA in epoxies. A team led by Florent Allais of AgroParisTech has found that syringaresinol, a naturally occurring, non-endocrine-disrupting bisphenol found in plants such as Syringa patula and Magnolia thailandica, can be used to produce epoxy-amine resins. The researchers developed a synthesis of syringaresinol via a chemo-enzymatic pathway. Though the epoxy-amine resins based on syringaresinol have mechanical and thermal stabilities that are close to that of BPA-produced resins, the authors say, “the search for a biobased bisphenol able to compete with BPA is not over yet.”