New Uv/Eb Curable Vinyl Ethers: Physical Properties And Suggested Applications

In recent years vinyl ethers (VE' s) have received increasing attention as materials
that can be used to produce UV/EB curable coatings (1). Vinyl ethers are used in a
number of demanding photocure applications that range from inks and adhesives to
stereolithography (2). Vinyl ethers exhibit desirable characteristics such as: fast cure,
toughness and low toxicity. They are known to form hybrid polymers with
epoxies (2). They may also be used to form copolymers with acrylates, and the
electron deficient olefins, i.e., maleates, maleimides, etc. (3, 4). The fact that they
can be used effectively in a wide variety of radiation curable systems demonstrates
their unique versatility and capabilities.

In this paper we introduce new VE terminated
polyester oligomers and monomers, which can provide the formulator with a
wide range of end-use properties. These polyester based VE materials offer fast cure
speeds, low viscosities and excellent compatibility with epoxies and acrylates. They
range in functionality from monoflinctional to multifunctional oligomers and monomers
These can be formulated to yield a broad range of final properties from soft
and flexible to hard and tough coatings.