Vinyl Ethers in UV Curing: Copolymers with Acrylates and Unsaturated Polyesters

Vinyl ethers are well known candidates to substitute styrene and monomeric acrylates as reactive diluents in UV formulations due to their better toxicological profile. The paper will demonstrate the ability of vinyl ethers to significantly reduce the formulation viscosity. The copolymerization behaviour of vinyl ethers with acrylates and unsaturated polyesters during cure has been studied. Evaluations with real-time IR spectroscopy were done in order to find the optimum content of vinyl ether diluents to satisfy the application needs and to minimize potential hydrolysis reactions. The systems reveal high reactivity and complete conversion of the vinyl ethers in optimized formulations. Application tests of coating performance will also be given.