Synthesis and Characterization of Biobased Poly (Ether Benzoxazole) Derived from Vanillin

Abstract

The synthesis of biobased poly(ether benzoxazole) (PEBO) derived from natural product vanillin was investigated. Poly(ether o-hydroxy amide) (PEHA) was used as a precursor of PEBO. PEBO was obtained by thermal treatment of PEHA based on the cyclodehydration. Synthesized PEBO was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to confirm the structure and thermal properties. The resultant PEBO film showed flexible and self-standing property. This film also had 5.2 GPa for Youngʼs modulus and 117 MPa for tensile strength which were higher than those of the commercial engineering polymers and other PEBOs.