Rheological and physical characterization of pressure sensitive adhesives from bio‐derived block copolymers

Over the past decade, the development of various monomers and polymeric materials from renewable natural resources has received increasing attention. Soybean oil, as one of the most abundant vegetable oils, has been widely used in recent studies. To enhance the reactivity of pure soybean oil, it can undergo through different processes such as acrylation and epoxidation. In this article, we investigated the viability of polymerized acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (PAESO) in the composition of pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs). We studied the physical and rheological properties of PSAs composed of poly(styrene‐b‐AESO), and five different tackifiers and three plasticizers. To verify the compatibility of the tackifiers with the biopolymer, a library of 15 PSAs was prepared through solvent blending method and tested by differential scanning calorimetry. The viable formulations were then prepared through hot‐melt blending and characterized using 180° peel tester, and advanced rheometric expansion system. Results showed that the combination of an ester of hydrogenated rosin and a high solvating plasticizer with the synthesized biopolymer indicated best performance relative to other formulations. The comparison of this candidate with its petroleum‐based counterpart containing SIS demonstrates promising potential of the material to perform as well as commercialized PSAs. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46618.