Synthesis and characterization of Cerbera odollam (sea mango) oil-based alkyd resin as binder for surface coating paint and matrix material for reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

Cerbera odollam oil was extracted from the dried Cerbera odollam seeds by the Soxhlet extraction method. Cerbera odollam seed oil-based alkyd resins were synthesized by the alcoholysis–polyesterification process via reaction of the oil with varying amounts of phthalic and maleic anhydride. Standard evaluation methods were used to analyze the physicochemical features of the resins, including acid value, viscosity, and others. Evaluation tests such as drying times, pencil hardness, adhesion, gloss measurement, and chemical inertness were employed to study the film performance of the produced alkyd resins. Mechanical characteristics such as ultimate tensile strength, strength under impact, elastic modulus, surface hardness, and water absorption were evaluated. Further characterization to study the organic architecture of the oil and alkyd resins was carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (¹H NMR). The resin with the higher percentage of maleic anhydride showed better surface coating application performance in set-to-touch (88 min), dry-to-touch time (105 min), and pencil hardness (5B) while resin higher in phthalic anhydride shows better results in gloss (92.5) and alkali resistance. On the other hand, the resin with the higher percentage of maleic anhydride showed better mechanical performance in tensile strength, tensile modulus, impact strength, and surface hardness while resin with higher percentage of phthalic anhydride showed better results in water absorption and elongation at break. Overall, the synthesized alkyd resins from the Cerbera odollam seed oil possessed great application potential in both surface coating and polymer composites as matrix.