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How to speed up the UV curing of water-based acrylic coatings

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Abstract

Water-based polyurethane-acrylate (PUA) coatings have been cured, after drying, by a short exposure to UV radiation in the presence of a radical-type photoinitiator. The light induced polymerization has been followed quantitatively by means of real-time infrared spectroscopy, by monitoring continuously the disappearance of the acrylate double bonds. The UV curing of the dry film was markedly accelerated by adding to the PUA formulation a reactive plasticizer (diacrylate monomer), by operating in a humid atmosphere or by raising the temperature. The neutralizer of the carboxylic groups, needed to get a stable dispersion, plays a key role in both the polymerization kinetics and in the hydrophilic character of the UV-cured polymer, the best performance being achieved by using a volatile tertiary amine. Water-based UV-cured PUA coatings combine hardness and flexibility and are, therefore, quite resistant to abrasion and scratching.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Photochimie Générale (UMR-CNRS No. 7525), Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Mulhouse, Université de Haute-Alsace, 3, rue Werner, 68200, Mulhouse, France

    C. Decker & F. Masson

  2. Polymer Research Laboratory, BASF-AG, 67056, Ludwigshafen, Germany

    R. Schwalm

Authors
  1. C. Decker
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  2. F. Masson
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  3. R. Schwalm
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Correspondence to C. Decker.

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Decker, C., Masson, F. & Schwalm, R. How to speed up the UV curing of water-based acrylic coatings. J Coat. Technol. Res. 1, 127–136 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-004-0007-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-004-0007-1

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