Guest Post by Dan Lamone UV-curable resins that utilize a cationic photopolymerization mechanism behave differently than the free-radical polymerizable resins that we discussed in the past two weeks. While cationic resins use UV light to initiate polymerization, these systems utilize completely different photoinitiators, monomeric materials and have their unique advantages ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dan Lamone Image courtesy of LED Magazine Product performance for free-radical curing UV resins can be tailored to meet many customer requirements due to the wide range of monomeric and oligomeric materials available. Most free-radical curing UV resins employ the unsaturated functionality of acrylate (including methacrylates) for curing but allyl and ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dan Lamone Many commercial systems use UV exposure to initiate curing as seen in the image above (courtesy of Dymax, www.dymax.com )  Free radical generating photoinitiators are used to cure through double bonds, most commonly acrylate and methacrylate monomers or oligomers. There are two types of free-radical generating photoinitiators, designated as Type ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dan Lamone We can classify portions of the electromagnetic spectrum by designating the frequency OR wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation because of wonderfully simple equation: c = f * λ. The speed of light (c), a constant, is equal to the product of frequency (f) and wavelength (λ). Once a wavelength is designated we automatically know the radiation’s ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dan Lamone I am honored to have received an invitation to be a guest blogger here on the Polymer Innovation Blog. We will spend the next couple months discussing a favorite subject of mine – ultraviolet (UV) curing. A versatile toolset in the engineering toolbox, the photochemical reaction mechanism employed by UV curable resins provides development and ... [Click to Continue...]