Influence of Temperature and Atmosphere on the Curing Rate and Final Properties of UV Curing Acrylates and Expoxides

UV curing adhesives now have an established share of the adhesive market 1,2]. A distinction is made between radical curing systems, most of which are based on acrylates, and cationic curing systems, which are mostly based on epoxides 3,4]. These adhesive systems are widely used in the electronics and microelectronics industries and for bonding glass, acrylic glass and polycarbonate. This is because of their favourable curing properties, very rapid strength development and good optical properties. The many commercially available UV curing adhesives are generally systems that have been adapted to common UV generators and this often makes it difficult to determine whether solely photochemical curing takes place or whether a thermal curing mechanism is partially involved. The objective of the work described here was to determine the effect of temperature and atmosphere on the rate of curing and material properties of the cured adhesives.