Synthesis and charaterization of hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)

The so-termed hyperbranched polymers differ from classical polymers by their high degree of branching, high density of terminal functionality, and three-dimensional molecular structure. The divergent synthesis of a series of polydisperse hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)s based upon 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane (as a core molecule) and N, N-diethylol-3-amine methylpropionate (as an AB(2) monomer) synthesized via Michael addition of methyl acrylate and diethanolamine is described, proceeding in a stepwise growth manner starting from an "initiator core" building branched arms, i.e., pseudo-one-step manner, or a one-step procedure in the melt using P-TSA as catalyst. These materials have different numbers of hydroxyl groups at the chain extremities on each molecule. The molecular composition of hyperbranched poly(amine-ester) was characterized by GPC, NMR and element analysis. The hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)s prepared using the pseudo-one-step procedure have narrower molecular weight distributions than the products obtained by using one-spot procedure as detected by GPC. The rheological behavior of the hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)s was investigated using a spinning viscometer. The viscosity is reduced sharply as the temperature increases. The thermal property has been also estimated. The hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)s, synthesized in this study, may be modified to meet particular application requirements for coating, lamination, and adhesive systems.