Diglycidyl ether
of bisphenol A (DGEBA) is a kind of widely used
epoxy resin, but its thermosets normally show high brittleness and
poor impact resistance due to the intrinsic rigid aromatic rings,
which limit its application greatly. To avoid this drawback, we proposed
a method to prepare a series of hyperbranched epoxies (HBEPs) with
different molecular weights. After HBEPs were cured with methyl tetrahydrophthalic
anhydride (MTHPA), characterizations were carried out to evaluate
the properties of the cured HBEP samples. Testing results indicate
that the hyperbranched thermosets can achieve excellent mechanical
strength and toughness (tensile strength: 89.2 MPa, bending strength:
129.6 MPa, elongation at break: 6.1%, toughness: 4.5 MJ m
–3
, and impact strength: 6.7 kJ m
–2
), which are superior
to those of the thermosets of commercial DGEBA (tensile strength:
81.2 MPa, bending strength: 108.2 MPa, elongation at break: 3.0%,
toughness: 1.5 MJ m
–3
, and impact strength: 4.2
kJ m
–2
). In addition, HBEP with the highest molecular
weight and degree of branching shows the best comprehensive mechanical
properties. All hyperbranched thermosets exhibit high glass-transition
temperatures (
T
g
) and thermostability,
which further illustrates the potential application value of HBEPs.