THE INFLUENCE OF ZNO NANOPARTICLES ON THE PROPERTIES OF HYPERBRANCHED ALKYD RESINS BASED ON CASTOR OIL

Hyperbranched alkyds based on trimethylolpropane, dimethylol propionic acid and castor oil were synthesized. The process implied preparing the three samples with ZnO nanoparticles in an amount of 0, 1, and 3 wt%. Commercial melamine resin was used as a crosslinking agent. Curing was carried out firstly in a drying oven at the 120 °C for half an hour, and afterward for seven days at room temperature. Thermal properties, physico-mechanical characteristics, and chemical resistance of cured coated were determined. An increasing amount of the ZnO nanoparticles in hyperbranched alkyd resins leads to the improvement of the properties of the cured coating. Based on the results, it was concluded that the hyperbranched alkyds with ZnO nanoparticles could be employed as binders in environment-friendly coatings due to lower viscosity (less content of organic solvent) compared to conventional alkyd resins.