The bio components in the vitrimers reprocessability: A meta- analysis study

Abstract

Vitrimers consist of polymeric networks capable of reorganizing their topology without harming the integrity of the material. These types of polymers have highly desirable properties, combining malleability, recyclability, cure, and repair at high
temperatures with insolubility and low shape changes, which implies that vitrimers can be designed to obtain re-processable materials that can replace traditional thermosets, which is a crucial step to face the problem of the disposal of plastic materials
after use. Thanks to these advantages, and intending to make sustainable the production of this kind of materials, various authors have explored the use of raw materials from renewable resources for partial or total replacement of synthetic vitrimers
components, thus increasing the environmentally friendly profile of the vitrimers, thanks to the reduction in both, the oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. To analyze the possibilities in this field, in this work, we perform a systematic collection of data present in the literature and investigate interactions between reprocessability, the stability of the mechanical properties, and the use of materials of biological origin for the synthesis of vitrimeric polymers. The results obtained show that some of the biomaterials that have been studied to date can improve the reprocessability properties of vitrimers, which indicates that the bio-based vitrimeric polymers can become an attractive option for the development of environmentally friendly materials with good mechanical and reprocessability properties.