In the last decades, bio-plasticizers such as epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) have emerged as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional phthalate plasticizers in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) compounds, owing to their non-toxic and stable properties. This study delves into the integration of ESBO as a bio-plasticizer and trimethylol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) as a cross-linking agent in PVC irradiated by electron beam. Employing the melt-mixing method, varied concentrations of TMPTMA (1, 3 and 5 phr) along with ESBO or dioctyl phthalate (DOP) were incorporated into PVC, followed by electron beam irradiation at different doses (50, 100, 200 kGy) under ambient atmospheric conditions. A systematic approach, using a full factorial experimental design method, was adopted to evaluate the combined influence of TMPTMA concentration and irradiation dose on the physical and mechanical properties of PVC. The findings revealed a higher resistance to irradiation induced degradation as well as somewhat less thermal degradation in PVC samples with ESBO compared to those with DOP. While decreasing of the glass transition temperature (Tg) for bio-plasticized PVC was the same as that for PVC plasticized by DOP, bio-plasticized PVC samples showed higher tensile strength and thermal dimensional stability and less plasticizer migration. A detailed analysis of hot-set test outcomes and tensile mechanical properties, facilitated by the experimental design methodology, highlighted that the irradiation dose had a more profound impact on the properties of PVC than the TMPTMA concentration. The study also identified an interaction effect between these variables, and their influences on the tensile strength and hot-set were modeled.

中文翻译：

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电子束辐照交联生物增塑 PVC 的物理力学性能


在过去的几十年里，环氧大豆油 （ESBO） 等生物增塑剂因其无毒和稳定的特性而成为聚氯乙烯 （PVC） 化合物中传统邻苯二甲酸酯增塑剂的环保替代品。本研究深入探讨了 ESBO 作为生物增塑剂和三羟甲基丙烷酯 （TMPTMA） 作为交联剂在电子束照射的 PVC 中的整合。采用熔融混合方法，将不同浓度的 TMPTMA （1、3 和 5 phr） 以及 ESBO 或邻苯二甲酸二辛酯 （DOP） 掺入 PVC 中，然后在环境大气条件下以不同剂量 （50、100、200 kGy） 进行电子束照射。采用系统方法，使用全因子实验设计方法，评估 TMPTMA 浓度和照射剂量对 PVC 物理机械性能的综合影响。研究结果表明，与使用 DOP 的 PVC 样品相比，使用 ESBO 的 PVC 样品对辐照诱导降解的抵抗力更高，热降解也略少。虽然生物增塑 PVC 的玻璃化转变温度 （Tg） 降低与 DOP 塑化的 PVC 相同，但生物增塑 PVC 样品表现出更高的拉伸强度和热尺寸稳定性，增塑剂迁移较少。通过实验设计方法对热固测试结果和拉伸机械性能的详细分析，强调辐照剂量对 PVC 性能的影响比 TMPTMA 浓度更深远。该研究还确定了这些变量之间的交互作用，并对它们对拉伸强度和热固性的影响进行了建模。