Facile synthesis of a castor oil-based hyperbranched acrylate oligomer and its application in UV-curable coatings

Fabrication and performance of the castor oil (CO)-based hyperbranched acrylate (C20AA) UV-curable coatings are highlighted in this work. Herein, C20AA was obtained through a facile reaction of a castor oil-based hyperbranched polyol (C20) with acrylic acid. FT-IR and H-1 NMR spectra confirmed the synthesis of the target C20AA. Subsequently, the as-prepared C20AA was employed for crosslinking a commercialized linear polyurethane acrylate (PUA) UV-curable oligomer. Specifically, by varying the content of C20AA over the range of 0, 20, 40, and 60 wt%, a series of UV-curable coatings were prepared and coded as C20AA-0, C20AA-20, C20AA-40, and C20AA-60, respectively, which were further cured under UV irradiation. The effect of C20AA loadings on the UV-curing efficiency and final polymer performance were investigated. Consequently, the tensile strength, Shore D hardness, pencil hardness, gel content, water resistance, and glass-transition temperature of the UV-cured coatings were greatly improved upon the addition of C20AA. Impressively, with the incorporation of 40 wt% C20AA, the resultant UV-cured coating exhibited highest double bond conversion, superior chemical resistance, and good flexibility. Additionally, all of the coatings showed outstanding transparency and good surface microstructures.