Photocuring refers to the curing process of monomer, oligomer or polymer matrix under light induction, and is generally used in the film-forming process. The technology has the characteristics of wide adaptability, economy and energy saving.
Photocuring of unsaturated polyester resin; the activation energy generated by high-energy ultraviolet light in the spectrum can break the CC bonds of unsaturated polyester resin, generate free radicals, and cure the resin. When a photosensitizer is added to unsaturated polyester resin, ultraviolet or visible light is used as an energy source to cause the resin to undergo a cross-linking reaction quickly.
Light curing technology is an energy-saving and clean technology. It saves energy – its energy consumption is one-tenth that of traditional mercury lamps. It does not contain solvents, has a protective effect on the ecological environment, and does not emit toxic gases and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is known as “green technology”. Photocuring technology (UV) is a photoprocessing process that polymerizes liquid epoxy acrylic resin into a solid state at high speed through ultraviolet light irradiation of a fixed wavelength. The photocuring reaction is essentially a photo-initiated polymerization and cross-linking reaction. Light-curing coatings are an early example of the large-scale successful application of light-curing technology in industry. They are also the products with the largest production and sales volume in the current light-curing industry. The scale is much larger than that of light-curing inks and light-curing adhesives, and epoxy acrylic is the main light-curing coating. .
The main advantage of light-curing coatings and light-curing inks over traditional coatings and inks is that they use reactive diluents to adjust the viscosity and have extremely low organic volatile component content. Non-photocurable coatings or inks are also available, such as water-based coatings and water-based inks, two-component heat-curing coatings, powder coatings, etc. Compared with these applications, the advantages of light curing technology are fast speed and low energy consumption. Some application technologies combine light-curing technology with other technologies, such as light-curing water-based coatings and light-curing powder coatings, making their advantages more prominent.
Light-cured protective cover. Light-curing protective sleeves are used to protect the outer anti-corrosion layer from damage when directional drilling penetrates oil pipelines.
Applications in other fields, such as light-curing adhesives, photoresists, laser three-dimensional imaging, three-dimensional modeling, etc., pay more attention to the rapid characteristics of light-curing technology.
Light-curing technology is also increasingly important in 3D printers. (Desktop light-curing printer) The principle is that polymer monomers and prepolymers form a photoinitiator (photosensitizer), referred to as (szg-3d), after UV light (for example, 250 -405 nm wavelength) after irradiation, a polymerization reaction is caused and curing is completed. The resin shrinks during the curing process and inevitably causes stress or deformation. Therefore, it is the development trend to develop photosensitive materials with small shrinkage, fast curing and high strength.
