For the last years radiation curable resins containing monomer acrylates have a high risk to be subject of regulatory evaluations. As a result, their use in paint and coating applications is being restricted by the authorities or brand owners. At the same time, the paint and coating industry witnesses an increasing demand for bio-based raw materials. Pioneers and drivers are companies such as Ikea.

Sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and xylitol are available in large scale quantities due to their use as an additive in food and pharmaceutical products. In the chemical industry esters of sorbitol and xylitol find application as starting material for surfactants, biobased plastics and resins. Apart from its biobased nature, some products show significant improvements in biodegradability compared to their conventional alternatives. High functionalities and a high rigidity of the polycyclic derivatives also offer advantages over other bio-based polyols such as glycerol.

However, the use of sugar alcohols in the synthesis of acrylate functional oligomers brings a number of challenges. In particular, the hydrophilic properties and the low reactivity of the secondary OH-groups of sorbitol and xylitol have shown to be a hurdle in the technical realization of sorbitol and xylitol based polyester acrylates. We have overcome these problems and have succeeded in developing novel bio-based UV oligomers with promising properties in coating formulations for wood and plastic surfaces. These novel UV oligomers reveal a bio-based content of up to 70%, good reactivities and resistance against critical test substances such as red wine and mustard. In conclusion we can state that sorbitol and xylitol are new candidates to strengthen the chemical toolbox for more sustainable radiation curable resins.