A novel itaconic acid (IA) based epoxy resin with curable double bonds (EIA) was synthesized by the esterification reaction between IA and epichlorohydrin (ECH). Its chemical structure was confirmed in detail by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ESI-ION TRAP MS before being cured by methyl hexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHHPA). In order to manipulate the properties of the cured resin, divinyl benzene (DVB) and acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) were employed here to act as comonomers. The results demonstrated that EIA showed a higher epoxy value of 0.625 and higher curing reactivity toward MHHPA compared with the commonly used diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). The glass transition temperature, tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus of the cured EIA without comonomers were 130.4 °C, 87.5 MPa, 152.4 MPa and 3400 MPa, respectively, which were comparable or better than those of DGEBA cured by the same curing agent. After being copolymerized with DVB or AESO, the properties of the cured EIA could be regulated further. The results indicated that EIA has great potential to replace the petroleum-based thermosetting resin, such as DGEBA.

A bio-based epoxy monomer, diglycidyl ester of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (DGF) was synthesized for the first time from the renewable 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). For comparison study, its petroleum-based counterpart, diglycidyl ester of terephthalic acid (DGT) was also prepared. Their chemical structures were confirmed in detail by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and FT-IR before they were cured by methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHHPA) and poly(propylene glycol)bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (D230), respectively. The curing behaviors were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal mechanical properties and thermal stabilities of the cured resins were evaluated using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Results showed that DGF displayed higher curing activity, elevated glass transition temperature and similar mechanical properties compared with those of the cured DGT. This study indicated that FDCA had a huge potential to replace the petroleum-based terephthalic acid in the synthesis of epoxy resins with satisfactory performance.