Hyper-branched acrylic resin with high solid contents

Abstract

A novel high solids acrylic resin (HSARs) with high solid content (78%) was synthesized from co-polymerization of the methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, acrylate acid, hydroxyl propyl acrylate, and hyper-branched macromonomer (HBM) in this study. The HBM was prepared by an “A2 + B3 + CA2” reaction system that covers four steps. The progress of each step of the reaction was monitored by real-time analysis for acid value and hydroxyl value of the reactants. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was employed to characterize the structure of HBM. The viscosity, mechanical properties, solvent resistance, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) of the HSARs were also assessed. Compared with conventional commercial polyacrylate resin with a 42% solid content, solid content of HSARs was increased by 78% and VOC was decreased by 40% due to the addition of HBM. Moreover, the HSARs resin possesses good solvent resistance and lower viscosity, which provides the possibility of decreasing the organic solvent when using them to make operational coatings.