To study the structure and properties of hyperbranched polyesters as well as the modified ones. Three generations of hyperbranched polyesters named HBPE-1, HBPE-2 and HBPE-3 were synthesized by the reactions from pentaerythritol and 2,2-dihydroxy-methyl-propionic acid by single-step polycondensation. They were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and the results indicated they possessed a high degree of branching. Then homemade urethane acrylate prepolymer reacted with three generations of hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polyesters introducing C=C contents, the product was characterized by FT-IR, DSC, TGA techniques. The results of TGA showed well thermal stability of all the products. TGA curves of the modified HBPES showed two stages, 280-350°C means pyrolysis of main chain ester section and 400-450°C means pyrolysis of urethane acrylate section. The results of DSC indicated that glass transition temperature increased with the number of the hyperbranched polyester units’ increment. What’s more, glass transition temperature of HBPE-3 was 48.13°C. HPUA-3 was semi-crystalline material, its glass transition temperature was-12.59°C, cold crystallization temperature Tc 110.92°C, melting temperature Tm 134.74°C. Since the introduction of a large number of unsaturated units to the end, the resin can be introduced into the UV-curable systems for paints, inks, adhesives and some other fields.
