Synthesis of renewable isosorbide-based monomer and preparation of the corresponding thermosets

Abstract Two kinds of difunctionalized isosorbide derivatives containing norbornene groups were designed and synthesized by a facile one-step reaction under mild conditions. 1 H NMR spectroscopy confirmed the chemical composition and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed the distinct curing behaviors between conventional petroleum-based dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and synthesized renewable isosorbided-based monomer (ISN). In contrast to DCPD, ISN was low viscous liquid at room temperature and had even higher reactivity to perform ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) in the presence of Grubbs’ catalyst. Due to the presence of flexible and elastic Si C long chains, the cured poly(ISN) thermosets not only had good mechanical properties but also exhibited much higher storage modulus at the rubbery state in comparison with traditional poly(DCPD).