Bio-based UV-curing coatings achieve tunable high performance

Replacing fossil-based resin systems with sustainable alternatives without sacrificing performance remains a central challenge for the coatings industry. A research team has now developed three UV-curable coating formulations based on acrylated epoxidised soybean oil (AESO) and isobornyl (meth)acrylates (IBOMA/IBOA) that achieve a bio-based content of up to 82 % while offering broadly tuneable mechanical and tribological properties.

The coatings were applied to AISI 1015 steel substrates and characterised using FTIR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, adhesion testing, wettability measurements and tribological evaluation. Optical transmittance exceeded 92 % across the 420–700 nm wavelength range, confirming excellent clarity.

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Mechanical tunability from stiff to ductile

By varying the ratio of AESO to isobornyl (meth)acrylates, the researchers achieved Young’s moduli ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 GPa and elongation at break values from 3.7 % to 8.6 %, enabling a controlled transition from hard, stiff coatings to more ductile, compliant films. Glass transition temperatures spanned from 22 to 71 °C, further illustrating the formulation flexibility of the system.

All three coatings maintained structural integrity under progressive abrasive loads of up to 20 N. The formulation with the highest AESO content performed particularly well: its softer, more flexible network delivered improved adhesion and a 45 % reduction in wear rate compared to the stiffer variants, with no substrate exposure observed under dry sliding conditions.

A viable route to sustainable high-performance coatings

The study demonstrates that bio-based UV-curable systems can simultaneously deliver mechanical adaptability, optical clarity and tribological stability – properties typically associated with conventional fossil-based resin technologies. By leveraging the inherent flexibility of vegetable oil-derived acrylates in combination with rigid bio-based co-monomers, the approach offers formulators a practical pathway towards sustainable high-performance coatings with tailored property profiles for industrial applications.

Source: Martínez-Rubio, P.-M. et al., High-performance bio-based UV-curable coatings with tunable mechanical and tribological properties. Progress in Organic Coatings 109949 (2026).

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