The effect of hyperbranched polyester and zirconium slag nanoparticles on the impact resistance of epoxy resin thermosets

A hyperbranched polyester (HBP) was synthesized through a polymerization of AB2 approach with succinic anhydride and diethanolamine. The effect of HBP and Zirconium slag nanoparticle (ZSN, a kind of solid waste in Zirconium industry) content on the toughness enhancement and morphology of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA) thermosets was studied. The results indicated that HBP can greatly improve the impact strength (IS) of epoxy thermosets, but the flexural strength (FS) was decreased with increasing the HBP content. The IS of epoxy thermosets modified with ZSN was also improved, and the FS decreases as increase of ZSN. The thermosets modified with both HBP and ZSN showed excellent IS and FS. The toughening enhancement mechanism was also discussed.