Abstract: Cardanol acetate (CA) was synthesized by the reaction of bio-based cardanol with acetic anhydride using toluene sulfonic as a catalyst. Sunsequently,CA was reacted with hydrogen peroxide with formic acid as a catalyst forming epoxidized CA (ECA)which was used as a plasticizer for PVC. The effect of ECA content on the TGA curves, Shore A hardness, glass transition temperature, tensile strength and elongation at break of plasticized PVC was studied.With the amount of ECA increased from 20 to 90 phr, the thermal stability of PVC and elongation at break increased obviously,however, the Shore A hardness, glass transition temperature, and tensile strength decreased. Compared with neat and DOP plasticized PVC,the synthesized ECA showed better plasticizing performance. Moreover, FTIR showed that ECA had a good compatibility with PVC.

Key words: poly（vinyl chloride）, epoxidize cardanol acetate, plasticizers, thermal stability, miscibility