Photopolymerization kinetics of a polyether acrylate in the presence of ceramic fillers used in stereolithography

Abstract The photoinitiated polymerization of a commercial polyether acrylate oligomer with 2,2-dimethoxy-1,2-phenyl acetophenone (DMPA) as radical photoinitiator was studied by using real time infrared spectroscopy (RTIR). First, the effect of light intensity, photoinitiator concentration and reactive diluent (1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, HDDA) on reaction was investigated in homogeneous phase. The maximum conversion was obtained for 0.5 wt% of DMPA and 10–15 vol% of HDDA. Then, ceramic fillers (SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , ZrO 2 and SiC) were added to the acrylate oligomer in order to be used later as reactive suspensions for stereolithography. The influence of the nature, size and concentration of these fillers on the kinetics and the final conversion was characterized. The index ratio between filler and organic matrix as well as the intergranular phase viscosity were found to be the main parameters governing the reaction in heterogeneous phase.

[1]  P. Lebaudy,et al.  Photoinitiated polymerization of a dimethacrylate oligomer: 1. Influence of photoinitiator concentration, temperature and light intensity , 1997 .

[2]  P. Lebaudy,et al.  Simulation of the photopolymerization gradient inside a pigmented coating: Influence of TiO2 concentration on the gradient , 2007 .

[3]  Thierry Chartier,et al.  Optical characterization of stereolithography alumina suspensions using the Kubelka-Munk model , 2009 .

[4]  T. Hayakawa,et al.  Analysis of photopolymerization behavior of UDMA/TEGDMA resin mixture and its composite by differential scanning calorimetry. , 2005, Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials.

[5]  T. Scherzer,et al.  The effect of temperature on the kinetics of diacrylate photopolymerizations studied by Real-time FTIR spectroscopy , 2000 .

[6]  M. Abadie,et al.  Photopolymerization of glycidyl acrylate and glycidyl methacrylate investigated by differential photocalorimetry and FT-I.R. , 1993 .

[7]  T. Chartier,et al.  Phosphate esters as dispersants for the tape casting of alumina , 1987 .

[8]  Thierry Chartier,et al.  Ceramic suspensions suitable for stereolithography , 1998 .

[9]  Tom Scherzer,et al.  Real-time FTIR–ATR spectroscopy to study the kinetics of ultrafast photopolymerization reactions induced by monochromatic UV light , 1999 .

[10]  H. Boots,et al.  Inhomogeneity during the photopolymerization of diacrylates: d.s.c. experiments and percolation theory , 1984 .

[11]  John W. Halloran,et al.  SCATTERING OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION IN TURBID SUSPENSIONS , 1997 .

[12]  C. Decker,et al.  Photoréticulation de caoutchoucs fonctionnalisés—V. Polymérisation radicalaire de caoutchoucs à groupements acrylates , 1996 .

[13]  T. Chartier,et al.  Tape casting using UV curable binders , 1997 .

[14]  J. Crivello,et al.  The synthesis and study of the photoinitiated cationic polymerization of novel cycloaliphatic epoxides , 1995 .

[15]  T. Hirasawa,et al.  Improvements to light transmittance in light-cured composite resins by the utilisation of low refractive index dimethacrylates. , 1990, Dental materials journal.

[16]  J. Halloran,et al.  Photopolymerization monitoring of ceramic stereolithography resins by FTIR methods , 2005 .

[17]  John W. Halloran,et al.  Freeform Fabrication of Ceramics via Stereolithography , 2005 .

[18]  M. Edirisinghe,et al.  Removal of binder from ceramic bodies fabricated using plastic forming methods , 1993 .

[19]  S. Oh,et al.  Photopolymerization and photobleaching of n-butyl acrylate/fumed silica composites monitored by real time FTIR-ATR spectroscopy , 2006 .

[20]  K. Moussa,et al.  A new method for monitoring ultra‐fast photopolymerizations by real‐time infra‐red (RTIR) spectroscopy , 1988 .