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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Plant Polymer Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355387
Research Project: Conversion of Polysaccharides and Other Bio-based Materials to High-Value, Commercial Products

Location: Plant Polymer Research

Title: Synthesis and characterization of an iron-containing fatty acid-based ionomer

Author
item STONE, DAVID - Tohono O'Odham Community College
item Biswas, Atanu
item Liu, Zengshe - Kevin
item Boddu, Veera
item Cheng, Huai

Submitted to: International Journal of Polymer Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/10/2019
Publication Date: 4/4/2019
Citation: Stone, D.A., Biswas, A., Liu, Z., Boddu, V., Cheng, H.N. 2019. Synthesis and characterization of an iron-containing fatty acid-based ionomer. International Journal of Polymer Science. Vol. 2019, Article ID 3024784, 9 pp. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3024784.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3024784

Interpretive Summary: In this work, we have shown that tall oil fatty acids/iron/C02/ water reaction system produced a new type of polymer. Through a combination of different analytical techniques, we have managed to decipher the major reaction pathways of this novel synthetic process. An advantage of this new ionomer is its low molecular weight that enables it to be readily soluble in a solvent and can be made into different physical forms, such as solid block, film, or foam. The novel reaction disclosed in this work will promote the utilization and creation of new market for bio-oil and tall oil fatty acids.

Technical Abstract: One of the desirable research goals today is to convert agro-based raw materials into low-cost functional polymers. Among the readily available natural raw materials are the fatty acids that can be obtained from hydrolysis of plant oils or from the paper industry as byproducts. In this work, a novel iron-containing ionomer has been prepared through the reaction of fatty acids with steel dust or iron powder in the presence of carbon dioxide and water. Characterization has been achieved via 1H and 13C NMR, FT-IR, and size exclusion chromatography. The product has been shown to have an ionomeric structure, consisting of oligomers of fatty acid carboxylates (derived from Diels-Alder reaction) coupled with iron(II) and iron(III) ions (from the oxidation of iron). Because the fatty acid oligomers have low molecular weights, the ionomer easily dissolves in a solvent and can be made into different physical forms, such as liquid, solid, film, or foam.