Synthesis of Acrylate‐Functionalized Polyglycerols and an Investigation of their UV Curing Behaviors

In this study, hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) is synthesized via ring‐opening polymerization of a glycidol monomer. An epoxy group is introduced at the end of HPG through a reaction with epichlorohydrin in a one‐pot process. The number of epoxy groups introduced increase proportional to the amount of boron‐trifluoride‐tetrahydrofuran catalyst used. In addition, acrylate‐functionalized polyglycerol (AG) is synthesized via a reaction of the epoxy group with an acrylic acid, and a maximum of 5.7 acrylate groups are introduced per molecule. AG shows photocuring behavior with the photoinitiator Irgacure 819, while viscosity is adjusted from 18 to 2947 cPs by introducing up to 80 wt% 2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate (2‐HEA). Diluted resin can cure over 97 wt% even with a short UV irradiation period of 20 s. Furthermore, hydrophilicity increases proportional to the amount of 2‐HEA added, and water absorption can be controlled in the range of 30–124 wt%. Hyperbranched polyglycerol is synthesized via ring‐opening polymerization of glycidol, and chain ends were sequentially substituted with epoxy and acrylate groups. The acrylate‐functional polyglycerol shows 97 wt% of curing just after 20 s of UV irradiation, and the cured polyglycerol absorbed a large amount of water according to the 2‐HEA diluent content in the resin.