Vegetable oils are a vital commodity in the industry because of the persisting challenges encountered with the utilization of fossil fuels, specifically petroleum. Petroleum-based polymers are a part of our day to day life, thus it is of importance to find sustainable ways to produce such indispensable commodities. Although various vegetable oils have been utilized to produce polymers, castor oil surpasses other vegetable oils, as it does not compete with the food industry as it is nonedible and as it is a natural polyol and has been used for polyurethane synthesis. Because of the versatility of castor oil chemistry, polymers such as epoxies, polyamides, and polyesters can be synthesized. The review focuses on the importance of castor oil toward the synthesis of various polymers and their versatile applications.
K E Y W O R D Scastor oil, castor oil chemistry, epoxy nanocomposite, polyester, polyurethane