화학공학소재연구정보센터
Thermochimica Acta, Vol.576, 47-55, 2014
UV-cured methacrylic-silica hybrids: Effect of oxygen inhibition on photo-curing kinetics
The kinetic behavior of innovative photopolymerizable UV-cured methacrylic-silica hybrid formulations, previously developed, was studied and compared to that of a reference control system. The organic-inorganic (O-I) hybrids proposed in this study are obtained from organic precursors with a high siloxane content mixed with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in such a way to produce co-continuous silica nano-domains dispersed within a cross-linked organic phase, as a result of the hydrolysis and condensation reactions. The kinetics of the radical photopolymerization mechanism induced by UV-radiations, in presence of a suitable photoinitiator, was studied by calorimetric, FTIR and Raman spectroscopic analyses, by varying the composition of the mixtures and the atmosphere for reactions. The well known effect of oxygen on the kinetic mechanism of the free radical photopolymerization of the methacrylic-siloxane based monomers was found to be strongly reduced in the hybrid system, especially when a proper thiol was used. The experimental calorimetric data were fitted using a simple kinetic model for radical photopolymerization reactions, obtaining a good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical model. From the comparison of the kinetic constants calculated for control and hybrid systems, it was possible to assess the effect of the composition, as well as of the atmosphere used during the photo-polymerization process, on the kinetic of photopolymerization reaction. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.