From automobiles and marine craft to construction materials, unsaturated polyester resins
(UPRs) are widely utilized in different parts of the composite industry. Green alternatives to
fossil-based monomers have been studied extensively in the polymer industry, but due to high
price and low availability, furan-based high-performance monomers have been considered less
commercially competitive to be utilized in UPR applications. As the cost of raw materials is
starting to decrease and recently made studies with 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) have
shown potential, conducting further studies on biobased furans is worthwhile.
In this study, novel unsaturated polyesters were made via melt polycondensation from
furfural-derived monomer, unsaturated diester monomer, and a mixture of diols. After curing
with a reactive diluent, thermal and mechanical properties of the resins were studied, showing
excellent results with the most optimal diol composition. The new resin showed a high glass
transition temperature of ca. 100 °C. Additionally, it was found through tensile tests that higher
tensile strength, E modulus, and strain were demonstrated by the resin when compared to a
commercial fossil-based analogue. Our promising results on the novel UPR indicate potential
for improved performance characteristics in various applications. Future research will focus on
studying the compatibility of the resin with commonly used fibres and its usability in fiberreinforced composite applications.