Hybrasurfs-A New Class of Hyperbranched Surfactants

Hyperbranched polymers: growing richer in flavours with time

Hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) have been studied for over three decades now; yet several interesting aspects continue to draw the attention of researchers worldwide. This is because of the simplicity of synthesis, their unique globular structure, and the numerous peripherally located functional groups that can be utilised to impart a variety of attributes, such as core-shell amphiphilicity, Janus amphiphilicity, clickable polymeric scaffolds, multifunctional crosslinkers, etc. Several reviews have been written on HBPs with a focus on synthetic strategies, structural diversity, and their potential applications; in this short feature article, we have taken an alternate approach to highlight some of the unique structural features of HBPs and their influence on the properties of HBPs. We also discuss their versatility and adaptability for the generation of several interesting functional polymeric systems. In the latter half, we focus on the utilisation of HBPs as multifunctional scaffolds, that rely on the numerous peripheral terminal groups. We conclude by drawing a structuro-functional analogy between the range of peripherally functionalised HBPs and other analogous, but more complex, polymeric systems. We believe that this review will serve as a visual sounding board that would encourage the development of several other applications for this class of unique polymers.

Hyperbranched polymer surfactant: synthesis, characterization and surface tension activity

Abstract

A series of hyperbranched polymer surfactants (HBP-C8, HBP-C12 and HBP-C16) were synthesized by the reaction between hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polymers (HBP) and fatty acyl chloride. The structure of obtained hyperbranched polymer surfactant was characterized by FTIR, NMR and GPC. The results showed that the products have amphiphilic structure. The thermal property of the hyperbranched polymer surfactant investigated by DSC and TGA was strongly influenced by the length of end alkyl chain. Surface activity of hyperbranched polymer surfactant was analyzed by surface tension method and UV spectrophotometry, respectively. The results showed that hyperbranched polymer surfactant took on better surface activity, which can effectively reduce the surface tension of the water. The hyperbranched polymer surfactant has a lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) and displays single molecular micellar properties, which can package small hydrophilic molecules in relatively low concentration.

Graphical abstract

The Synthesis of Nonionic Hyperbranched Organosilicone Surfactant and Characterization of Its Wetting Ability

In this research, the epoxy silicone oil and self-made hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HBP-OH) were used to synthesis the nonionic hyperbranched organosilicone surfactant (NHSi). The molar rate of hydroxyl groups of HBP-OH and epoxy groups of epoxy silicon oil (n-OH: n-epoxy) was adjusted from 5:1~60:1 to prepare a series of NHSi. The Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), contact angle measuring instrument, surface tensiometer and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were employed to characterize the structure and property of HBP-OH and NHSi. GPC analysis indicated that the Mn of HBP-OH was 340.5. FT-IR analysis showed that with the increase of molar rate of n-OH:n-epoxy, the peak intensity of –OH increased. The prepared NHSi was then used to prepare the water solution. The lowest surface tension of NHSi solution was 24.71 mN·m−1 when the n-OH:n-epoxy was 30:1 in the preparation process. The minimum water contact angle of waterborne polyurethane (WPU) emulsion by adding 2% of NHSi was 14.85° on the surface of glass. The wetting experiments showed that the NHSi has good wetting ability to fixed sea-island superfine fiber synthetic material.