A thiol‐ene clickable hyperbranched polyester via a simple single‐step melt trans‐esterification process

Self‐condensation of AB₂ type monomers (containing one A‐type and two B‐type functional groups) generates hyperbranched (HB) polymers that carry numerous B ‐type end‐groups at their molecular periphery; thus, development of synthetic methods that directly provide quantitatively transformable peripheral B groups would be of immense value as this would provide easy access to multiply functionalized HB systems. A readily accessible AB₂ monomer, namely diallyl, 5‐(4‐hydroxybutoxy)isophthalate was synthesized, which on polymerization under standard melt‐transesterfication conditions yielded a peripherally clickable HB polyester in a single step; the allyl groups were quantitatively reacted with a variety of thiols using the facile photoinitiated “thiol‐ene” reaction to generate a wide range of derivatives, with varying solubility and thermal properties. Furthermore, it is shown that the peripheral allyl double bonds can also be readily epoxidized using meta‐chloroperoxybenzoic acid to yield interesting HB systems, which could potentially serve as a multifunctional cross‐linking agent in epoxy formulations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40248.     

High-toughening modification of polylactic acid by long-chain hyperbranched polymers

The hyperbranched polyester synthesized by “one-step method” was grafted with stearic acid to obtain long-chain hyperbranched polymers (LCHBPs) with a large number of long stearic acid chains at the end. By means of FTIR and ¹³C-NMR characterization, it was proved that stearic acids were grafted onto hyperbranched polyesters (HBPE) to yield LCHBPs successfully. It was determined by GPC and hydroxyl value titration that the number average molecular weight of HBPE was 4.86 × 10³ and the grafting rate of stearic acid was 47%. Polylactic acid (PLA)/LCHBPs blends were prepared by melt processing method. The results showed that comparing with neat PLA, the tensile strength of PLA/LCHBPs blends decreased slightly with the increase of LCHBPs, but still maintained a high level, while the elongation at break and the impact strength of the PLA with 3.0 phr LCHBPs were greatly improved by 1360.0% and 119.8%, respectively. In addition, the impacted fracture characteristics of PLA changed significantly from brittle fracture to ductile fracture after LCHBPs incorporation, with the formation of a large number of filamentous structures. Thus, LCHBPs was an excellent toughening modifier for PLA and the resulting blends with improved performance possess wider applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of hybrid films from hyperbranched polyester using a sol–gel process

Hybrid organic/inorganic materials were prepared by an in situ sol–gel process using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in the presence of hyperbranched polyester. The influences of hyperbranched polyester molar mass as well as the amount of TEOS were examined. The condensation degree was characterized by solid state ²⁹Si NMR. The combination of solubility tests, calcination tests, SAXS and dynamic mechanical analysis allowed us to investigate the hybrid material nanostructure. The results show high compatibility between the inorganic silica phase and the organic polymer phase, due to the spherical shape of the hyperbranched polymer and its numerous hydroxyl groups. As a consequence, a continuous inorganic phase was formed even with a low silica precursor content without any macroscopic phase separation. These hybrid materials have a high T_g and high storage modulus even at an elevated temperature combined with improved thermal stability. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39830.     

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of hyperbranched polyester improved by autocatalytic prepolymerization process

This work developed a facile and environmentally friendly route for lipase-catalyzed synthesis of a hyperbranched polyester by introducing an autocatalytic prepolymerization of comonomers. Trimethylolpropane, 1,8-octanediol, and adipic acid as comonomers for synthesizing the hyperbranched polyester were first prepolymerized via the automatic catalytic effect of the reactants themselves to obtain an appropriate reaction substrate for further lipase-catalyzed polymerization, where immobilized lipase Novozym 435 was used as a biocatalyst. The acidity and fluidity of optimized oligomers after the autocatalytic prepolymerization provide a benign reaction substrate for the retention of enzymatic activity in the subsequent lipase-catalyzed esterification, which is crucial for the enzymatic polymerization. The optimum reaction temperature and reaction time for prepolymerization were determined to be 120 °C and 150 min. The molecular weight (M _w) of the prepared polyester was approximately 26,300 g/mol. Quantitative analysis of ¹H-NMR and inverse-gated ¹³C-NMR spectra confirmed the hyperbranched structure of the resulting polyester with a branching degree of 31.3%. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47221.     

Synthesis and characterization of curable methacrylate‐based monomers

The synthesis of new methacrylate‐based, curable macromonomers, 4,4′‐bis[2‐hydroxy‐3‐aminopropylmethacrylate] diphenyl ether (BHAPE) and 4,4′‐bis[2‐hydroxy‐3‐aminopropylmethacrylate] diphenyl methane (BHAPM), is reported. BHAPE and BHAPM were prepared by the reaction of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl methane, respectively. The progress of the reaction was monitored by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC), and the structure of the monomers was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. Thermal curing of the monomers was conducted in a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with peroxide as the initiator. Thermal curing of the monomers showed the highest rate at 100°C with the activation energy value in the range 80–90 kJ distilled/mol. The water absorption properties of the cured samples in water, acidic, and basic solutions were studied. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Thiol-terminated hyperbranched polymer for DLP 3D printing: Performance evaluation of a low shrinkage photosensitive resin

In order to lower the volume shrinkage of the DLP 3D printing photosensitive resins during printing, a thiol-terminated hyperbranched polymer (T-HBP) was synthesized and introduced into the bisphenol A epoxy acrylate (EA) based photosensitive resin system. The obtained T-HBP was characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectra, and the grafting rate of sulfhydryl was determined. The mechanical properties of the photosensitive resins were measured by tensile and impact strength measurement. The glass transition temperature of the photosensitive resins was analyzed by DSC and the impact fracture surface was observed by SEM. T-HBP exhibited a much lower viscosity than its linear counterparts, and the addition of thiol improved the curing speed of the photosensitive resins. When the amount of T-HBP added was 20 wt%, the shrinkage of the photosensitive resins was reduced by about 45.5% and the impact strength increased by 33.9% compared with the control. The macromolecular spherical structure of T-HBP effectively reduced the functional group density of the photosensitive resins. In addition, the thiol-acrylate photopolymerization introduced by T-HBP further reduced the volume shrinkage of the photosensitive resins.     

Rheological properties of hydroxyl‐terminated and end‐capped aliphatic hyperbranched polyesters

The rheological behavior of two series of aliphatic hyperbranched (HB) polyesters, based on 2,2‐bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (bis‐MPA) and di‐trimethylol propane (Di‐TMP) as a tetrafunctional core, was studied. The effect of the size (pseudo‐generation number, from second to eight) and structure on the melt rheological properties was investigated for a series of hydroxyl‐terminated HB polyesters. In addition, the influence of the nature and degree of modification of the terminal OH groups in a series of fourth‐generation polyesters end‐capped with short and long alkyl chains and some aryl groups on the rheological properties was analyzed. The time–temperature superposition procedure was applied for the construction of master curves and for the analysis of the rheological properties of HB polyesters. The data obtained from WLF analysis of the HB polyesters showed that the values of the thermal coefficient of expansion of free volume α_f and the fractional free volume at the glass transition temperature, f_g, increase with increasing size of the HB polyesters. It was shown that the modified HB polyesters exhibited lower T_g and T_G′=G″ temperatures, above which viscous became dominant over elastic behavior. From an analysis of the master curves of the modified HB polyesters, it was observed that with increasing degree of modification, both storage and loss modules and complex dynamic viscosity and apparent energy for viscoelastic relaxation decrease, because of reduced intermolecular hydrogen interactions. They do not exhibit a plateau of rubbery behavior, which confirms that no entanglements are present and that the molar masses are below the critical molar mass. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41479.     

Synthesis,characterization, thermal,and viscoelastic properties of an unsaturated epoxy polyester cured with different hardeners

The chemical modification of the structure of the unsaturated polyester obtained in poly condensation process of 1,2,3,6‐tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, maleic anhydride, and ethylene glycol by well known conventional method of epoxidation with peracetic acid in mild conditions has been presented. The new material containing both epoxy groups and unsaturated double bonds in polyester chain was characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectra. The prepared unsaturated epoxy polyester was suitable material for further chemical modification. Both epoxy groups and unsaturated double bonds can be used as cross‐linking sites. Curing behavior, thermal, and visco‐elastic properties of the unsaturated epoxy polyester cured with different hardeners: 1,2,3,6‐tetrahydrophthalic anhydride (THPA), hexahydrophthalic anhydride (HHPA), and/or with vinyl monomer (styrene) using radical initiator—benzoyl peroxide (BPO) were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Nitrile rubber/hindered phenol exterminated hyperbranched polyester materials with improved damping and mechanical performance

Hindered phenol exterminated hyperbranched polyester (mHBP) is fabricated by esterification reaction. The mHBP is introduced into nitrile rubber (NBR) to prepare NBR/mHBP blends. Structure, damping and mechanical properties of NBR/mHBP blends are investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹H‐NMR, dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA), and tensile tester. FTIR spectra of the blends illustrate the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the NBR and mHBP, contributing to the improvement of damping and mechanical properties. The results indicate that, with the increasing mHBP content, the T_g of the blends shifted to a higher temperature with a broadening temperature range and improved mechanical properties, showing an application in adjusting the T_g and temperature range without decreasing of loss factor. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42605.     

Preparation of polyamidoamine dendrons supported on chitosan microspheres and the adsorption of bilirubin

The aim of this study was to prepare a new adsorbent for bilirubin (BR); low generation (G, G ≤4) hexanediamine‐containing polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrons were supported on chitosan (CS) microspheres (CS‐Gn, n = 0,1,2,3,4). The adsorption properties of this novel adsorbent for BR in aqueous solution were examined. The adsorption percentages were over 70% at 0.5 h and over 90% at 1 h. The adsorption capacity was up to 43 mg/g and was not yet saturated. The BR adsorption increased with increasing temperature and increasing BR initial concentration and was the highest at pH 7.4; it decreased slightly with increasing ionic strength and occurred even in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). We observed that the CS–Gn microspheres had satisfactory competitive abilities with BSA, although the adsorption percentage decreased a certain extent in the presence of BSA. In addition, the CS–Gn microspheres were easier to prepare than the usual PAMAM dendrimers. In summary, this adsorbent is a promising biomedical material for BR removal for artificial liver supported systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Synthesis of low viscosity,fast UV curing solder resist based on epoxy resin for ink‐jet printing

A novel photosensitive low viscosity epoxy resin was synthesized by polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐modified bisphenol‐A epoxy resin (E51). The resin was modified by ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and different molecule weights (200,300,400) PEGs to optimize the minimum viscosity. FTIR was used to determine molecule structure. Cationic photoinitiator (UVI‐6976) mixed with modified resin (10 wt %), was utilized to boost the resin curing under UV light. The curing degree was beyond 90% within 40 s and the whole process was monitored by photo‐DSC. The modified resin diluted with ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, was screen printed onto polyimide and polyethylene terephthalate substrate, and the properties of solder mask were up to China printed circuit association standard. The solder resist also meet all requirements under ink‐jet printing technology as the viscosity is under 60 mPa·s and the curing duration is <1 min. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Effect of wood on the curing behavior of commercial phenolic resin systems

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the effect of wood on the curing behavior of two types of commercial oriented‐strand‐board phenolic resins. DSC analysis showed that the curing behavior of the core resin differed significantly from that of the face resin in terms of the peak shape, peak temperature, and activation energy. The addition of wood to the resins moved the two separated peaks in the DSC curves of the core resin adjacent to each other. It also accelerated the addition reactions in the curing processes of both the core and face resins. The two peaks in the DSC curves were the result of the high pH values of the resins. These two peaks became either jointed together or overlapped when the pH value of the resin was reduced. Wood also reduced the activation energies for both the core and face resins by decreasing the pH values of the curing systems. Moreover, the effects of wood on the curing behavior of the resins among the five species studied were similar. The lowest activation energy for a phenolic resin probably appeared at pH 10–11 under alkaline conditions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 185–192, 2005     

Synthesis and characterization of a thermotropic liquid crystalline hyperbranched polyester

BACKGROUND: Hyperbranched polymers have received increasing attention in the fields of medicine, homogeneous catalysis and materials science. Hydroxyl‐functional aliphatic polyesters are one of the most widely investigated families of hyperbranched polymers. The research reported here is based on the preparation of a novel hyperbranched polyester and the modification of its terminal hydroxyl groups by biphenyl mesogenic units. RESULTS: 2,2,6,6‐Tetramethylolcyclohexanol as a core and 8‐[4′‐propoxy(1,1‐biphenyl)yloxy]octanoic acid as a mesogenic unit were synthesized. A hyperbranched polyester (HPE) was synthesized in one step and subsequently substituted by reaction of its terminal hydroxyl groups with the biphenyl mesogenic units to yield a novel liquid crystalline hyperbranched polyester (HPE‐LC). The chemical structures of all compounds were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The thermal behavior and the mesogenic properties of the biphenyl mesogenic unit and HPE‐LC were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The results demonstrated that the degree of branching of the HPE is ca 0.63. Both HPE‐LC and the biphenyl mesogenic unit exhibit mesomorphic properties, but HPE‐LC has a lower isotropic transition temperature and a wider transition temperature range than the biphenyl mesogenic unit. CONCLUSION: A novel liquid crystalline hyperbranched polyester was successfully synthesized, which exhibits mesomorphic properties. This polymer has good solubility in highly polar solvents and good thermal stability. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Resin‐transfer molding of natural fiber–reinforced plastic. I. Kinetic study of an unsaturated polyester resin containing an inhibitor and various promoters

In this study an autocatalytic model was used to describe the cure of a polyester system containing various promoters and an inhibitor. The effect of the initiator concentration was investigated. Isothermal DSC measurements were used to determine the kinetic parameters for the curing reaction. The rate of curing increased with increasing initiator concentration. The parameters were found to be temperature dependent. The nonlinear regression analysis showed that by fixing one parameter at a constant value the temperature dependency of the other parameters was described by simple relationships. The model was then compared to the experimental data. The reaction rate could be predicted fairly well in a wide range of temperatures. These results will be used to model the cure of this resin in a resin transfer‐molding (RTM) process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2553–2561, 2003     

Effect of generation number on properties of fluoroalkyl-terminated hyperbranched polyurethane latexs and its films

The 1–3 generations of hyperbranched polyesters (HBPE-1/2/3) were synthesized from trimethylolpropane (TMP) and 2,2-dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) by “quasi-one-step method.” Then, isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polybutylene adipate (CMA-1044), DMPA and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) were utilized to prepare the urethane prepolymer (PU), which was reacted with HBPE to synthesize hyperbranched polyurethanes (HBPU). Finally, 1–3 generations of fluoroalkyl-end-capped hyperbranched polyurethanes (FHBPU) latexes were obtained by the reaction of perfluorohexyl ethanol (S104) and HBPU as well as the self-emulsification process. Structure of the products, the properties of different FHBPU emulsions and its films were investigated by FTIR, ¹H NMR, TEM, DLS, TGA, XPS, XRD, SEM, AFM and static contact angle measuring instrument. Results showed that the particle size of FHBPU latexes increased gradually with the increase of generation number. SEM and XRD results verified that an amount of the crystal particles was increased with the increase of generation number. XPS and AFM demonstrated that degree of microphase separation and film roughness was increased with the increase of branching degree. Static water contact angles could attain 95.9°, 100.3°, and 107.0°, respectively on the 1–3 generations of FHBPU films, compared to that on PU (75.1°).     

Thermal cure behavior of unsaturated polyester/phenol blends

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were used to detect and simulate the cure behavior of unsaturated polyester (UP), phenol, and UP/phenol blends and to calculate and predict the cure rate, cure temperature, conversion, and changes in the glass‐transition temperature along with various cure orders in order to obtain the optimum parameters for processing. With dynamic scanning and isothermal DSC procedures and Borchardt–Daniels dynamic software, cure data for the UP resin were obtained, 90% of the conversion rate at 100°C being achieved after 15 min. However, for the phenol and UP/phenol blends, gradually increasing the temperature was found to be best for curing according to the DSC and DMA test results. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1041–1058, 2004     

Time–temperature–transformation cure diagrams of phenol–formaldehyde and lignin–phenol–formaldehyde novolac resins

In this study, the time–temperature– transformation (TTT) cure diagrams of the curing processes of several novolac resins were determined. Each diagram corresponded to a mixture of commercial phenol–formaldehyde novolac, lignin–phenol–formaldehyde novolac, and methylolated lignin–phenol–formaldehyde novolac resins with hexamethylenetetramine as a curing agent. Thermomechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry techniques were applied to study the resin gelation and the kinetics of the curing process to obtain the isoconversional curves. The temperature at which the material gelled and vitrified [the glass‐transition temperature at the gel point (_gelT_g)], the glass‐transition temperature of the uncured material (without crosslinking; T_g0), and the glass‐transition temperature with full crosslinking were also obtained. On the basis of the measured of conversion degree at gelation, the approximate glass‐transition temperature/conversion relationship, and the thermokinetic results of the curing process of the resins, TTT cure diagrams of the novolac samples were constructed. The TTT diagrams showed that the lignin–novolac and methylolated lignin–novolac resins presented lower T_g0 and _gelT_g values than the commercial resin. The TTT diagram is a suitable tool for understanding novolac resin behavior during the isothermal curing process. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis of hyperbranched polybenzoxazoles and their molecular composites with epoxy resins

Hyperbranched aromatic polymers have attracted great attention recently because they combined the processability of hyperbranched polymers and the high‐level performance of aromatic polymers. Here, a one‐pot strategy for the synthesis of hyperbranched Polybenzoxazoles (HBPBOs) by polycondensation of 2,2‐Bis (3‐amino‐4‐hydroxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane and 1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylic acid in Polyphosphoric acid was reported. The HBPBOs exhibited good solubility in organic solvents because of the branched structure and the flexible hexafluoropropane groups in main chains. The structure and terminal functional groups could be tailored by adjusting the molar ratio of two monomers. FT‐IR, NMR and XRD measurements confirmed the structure of HBPBOs, while thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV‐vis, and photoluminescence spectra, combined with the comparison with linear PBOs demonstrated the intriguing optical properties and good thermal stabilities of HBPBOs. The good solubility of HBPBOs also permitted their usage as molecular reinforcement for polymer composites as demonstrated in this study of HBPBOs/epoxy composites. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41942.     

Kinetics of the curing reaction of unsaturated polyester resins catalyzed with new initiators and a promoter

In this article, the curing of unsaturated polyester resins catalyzed with a promoter [cobalt(II) octoate] and free‐radical initiators is presented. The new initiators were formed by the oxidation process of ethyl methyl ketone or cyclohexanone with hydrogen peroxide and the mixture of solvents containing hydroxyl groups. As a reference, a typical curing system containing ethyl methyl ketone hydroperoxide (Luperox) and the promoter was used. The differential scanning calorimetry runs were performed at different heating rates. The experimental data were fitted with the empirical kinetic model. First, the kinetic parameters (activation energy, frequency factor, and reaction order) were obtained with a single reactive process and with the nth‐order reaction f(α), the nth‐order reaction f(α) with autocatalysis, and the first‐order reaction f(α) with autocatalysis. Second, two or three different reactive processes with the nth‐order reaction f(α) for each step were used. The obtained values of the activation energies for the curing of the unsaturated polyester resins with the free radical initiator–cobalt(II) salt catalytic system were in the range 40–60 kJ/mol for the polymerization initiated by the redox decomposition of the initiators and 80–90 kJ/mol for the polymerization initiated by the thermal decomposition of the initiators at high temperatures. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 1870–1876, 2006     

Crystallization behavior of hyperbranched polyethylenes with different degree of branching

Hyperbranched polyethylenes (HBPEs) with different degree of branching (DB) and similar M_n are used to investigate the effect of branch structure on their crystallization behaviors. The crystal structure, isothermal, and non‐isothermal crystallization kinetics of HBPEs are studied by X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The isothermal crystallization process is analyzed by the Avrami equation while the non‐isothermal crystallization process is analyzed through the Ozawa and Mo methods. The XRD results indicate that the crystallization ability of HBPEs is weakened with the introduction of branch structure, i.e., the crystallinity of HBPEs decreases with the increase of DB, and even tends to zero. The kinetics results of isothermal and non‐isothermal crystallization verify the peculiar effects of DB on the crystallization process of HBPEs. In detail, a little of branch structure can accelerate the crystallization process of HBPEs, however a large number of branch can inhibit it. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44127.