Photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate - toward high molecular weights for high speed thermoplastics manufacturing

Photopolymerization traditionally involves the use of multifunctional monomers and oligomers thus leading the formation of tridimensional networks. Use of nonfunctional monomers opens the way to the formation of linear photopolymer chains presenting recyclable possibilities. Thermoplastics are generally synthetized by thermal way at high temperature and during time consuming process depending of the polymer type. Environmental issues imply to revisiting the traditional routes and the UV curing concept and its advantages appear as an alternative. The challenge in such a case lies in the achievement of a polymer with a high enough molecular weight to achieve the properties required in industry. This presentation will focus on the synthesis of PMMA by UV irradiation, the characterization of photopolymerization kinetics and final properties and more precisely the dependence of the molecular weight on the photochemical and photonic parameters.