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Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 27430

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marta Worzakowska

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Department of Polymer Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, M. Curie-Sklodowska Sq. 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Interests: novel synthesis of functional monomers; functional polymer synthesis and characterization; functionalization of polymer surface; thermal properties of polymers; application of polymeric microspheres in separation processes; polymeric drug delivery systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Marta Grochowicz

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Department of Polymer Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, M. Curie-Sklodowska Sq. 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Interests: novel synthesis of functional monomers; functional polymer synthesis and characterization; functionalization of polymer surface; thermal properties of polymers; application of polymeric microspheres in separation processes; polymeric drug delivery systems; polymeric composites; biodegradable polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

UV polymerization is a process of creation of linear or crosslinked, high molecular mass polymer structures from low molecular mass monomers (usually unsaturated acrylates or methacrylates) under exposure of visible or ultraviolet light. The curing of some coating with the use of light energy has been known since ancient times. This technique was used by ancient Egyptians for embalming mummies or for the preparation of sealants for wooden hulled ships.

Today, this technique is widely applied for the production of many commercially available materials or for the preparation of new polymeric materials which can find potential practical applications. Photocurable resins are widely used in many industries, e.g., coatings, printing, dentistry, paints, graphic arts, optical adhesives, microelectronics, optics, and medicine.

This Special Issue is concerned with recent advances in UV polymerization, especially new polymeric materials which can be created using this technique. Topics may include new or commercially available synthetic or natural-based monomers, UV initiators, photopolymerization kinetic, physical and chemical properties of the created materials, their thermal, mechanical, and optical properties, etc., as well as their applications.

Both original contributions and reviews are welcome.

Dr. hab. Marta Grochowicz
Dr. Marta Worzakowska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

UV polymerization
Monomers
UV initiators
New polymeric materials
Photopolymerization kinetic
Properties
Applications

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Self-Photopolymerizable Hydrogel–Ceramic Composites with Scavenger Properties

by Maria Canillas, Gabriel Goetten de Lima, Marcelo J. C. de Sá, Michael J. D. Nugent, Miguel A. Rodríguez and Declan M. Devine

Polymers 2022, 14(6), 1261; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14061261 - 21 Mar 2022

Viewed by 1830

Abstract

The photocatalytic behaviours of semiconductive ceramic nanoparticles such as TiO₂, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, and Fe₃O₄, have been extensively studied in photocatalysis and photopolymerization, due to their ability to produce radical species under ultraviolet–visible light, and even in dark conditions. In addition, in the form of microparticles, TiO₂ and its Magnéli phases are capable of neutralizing radical species, and a heterogeneous catalytic process has been suggested to explain this property, as it is well known as scavenging activity. Thus, in this study, we demonstrate that these ceramic powders, in the form of microparticles, could be used as photoinitiators in UV polymerization in order to synthesize a hydrogel matrix. Them, embedded ceramic powders could be able to neutralize radical species of physiological media once implanted. The hydrogel matrix would regulate the exchange of free radicals in any media, while the ceramic particles would neutralize the reactive species. Therefore, in this work, the scavenger activities of TiO₂, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, and Fe₃O₄ microparticles, along with their photoinitiation yield, were evaluated. After photopolymerization, the gel fraction and swelling behaviour were evaluated for each hydrogel produced with different ceramic initiators. Gel fractions were higher than 60%, exhibiting variation in their scavenging activity. Therefore, we demonstrate that ceramic photoinitiators of TiO₂, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, and Fe₃O₄ can be used to fabricate implantable devices with scavenger properties in order to neutralize radical species involved in inflammatory processes and degenerative diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials)

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14 pages, 25806 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Printing Temperature and Filling Percentage on the Mechanical Behavior of Fused Deposition Molding Technology Components for 3D Printing

by Ming-Hsien Hsueh, Chao-Jung Lai, Kuan-Yin Liu, Cheng-Feng Chung, Shi-Hao Wang, Chieh-Yu Pan, Wen-Chen Huang, Chia-Hsin Hsieh and Yu-Shan Zeng

Polymers 2021, 13(17), 2910; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13172910 - 29 Aug 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3821

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the advantages of providing materials with lightweight microporous structures and customized features, and being environmentally safe. It is widely used in medical sciences, the aerospace industry, biological research, engineering applications, and other fields. Among the many additive manufacturing methods, fused deposition modeling (FDM) is relatively low-cost, wastes less raw material and has a lower technical threshold. This paper presents a study on 3D printing based on FDM by changing two printing parameters, namely the printing temperature and filling percentage. The produced polylactic acid (PLA) material was analyzed through tensile and Shore D hardness tests and the differences in mechanical properties before and after the UV curing process were analyzed. The results show that increasing the filling percentage or increasing the printing temperature can effectively improve the tensile Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile strength, elongation, and Shore hardness of the material. The UV curing process could enhance the rigidity and hardness of the material significantly but reduced the strength and toughness of the material. These findings could benefit researchers studying FDM with the goal of achieving sustainable manufactured materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials)

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15 pages, 3020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of Hyperbranched and Organosilicone Modified Waterborne Polyurethane Acrylates Photosensitive Resin

by Na Wang, Xinhui Wang, Jinyan Lang, Zhenhua Hu and Heng Zhang

Polymers 2021, 13(13), 2039; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13132039 - 22 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2754

Abstract

A new type of waterborne polyurethane acrylate was synthesized for use as a UV curing coating. The N,N-dihydroxy methyl ethyl-3-Methyl aminopropanoate monomer was first prepared via adding reactions of methyl acrylate and diethanol amine with methyl alcohol as the solvent. Then, the hyperbranched prepolymer was obtained by addition of trimethylolpropane with toluenesulfonic acid as catalyst and N,N-dimethyl formamide as solvent. The resulting hyperbranched and organosilicone modified waterborne polyurethane acrylates was synthesized through the mixed reaction of prepolymer and Hydroxy silicone oil, polyethylene glycol-1000, toluene diisocynate, dimethylolpropionic acid, 1,2-propylene glycol, hydroxyethyl acrylate, and triethylamine with dibutyltin dilaurate as the catalyst. The molecular structures were characterized by FT-IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy and GPC analysis and the thermal stability was studied by using TGA. Moreover, the influence of contemodnt of hydroxyl silicone oil, dimethylolpropionic acid, polyethylene glycol-1000, and prepolymer to various of properties such as glossiness, hardness, adhesive force, abrasion resistance, water absorption, elongation at break and tensile strength of films were analyzed. The temperature and catalyst dosage impact on percent conversion of isocyanate group (–NCO) were also studied. It was proven that the best dosage of hydroxyl silicone oil and dimethylolpropionic acid were 4.6%, the dosage of polyethylene glycol-1000 was 50%, and the amount of hyperbranched prepolymer was 0.5%, which could make the film achieve the optimum properties. The percent conversion of isocyanate group (–NCO) was maximum when reacting two hours at 80 °C with 0.2% catalyst. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials)

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15 pages, 4722 KiB

Open AccessArticle

UV Polymerization of Methacrylates—Preparation and Properties of Novel Copolymers

by Marta Worzakowska

Polymers 2021, 13(10), 1659; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13101659 - 20 May 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2843

Abstract

More environmentally friendly polymeric materials for use in corrosive conditions were obtained in the process of UV polymerization of terpene methacrylate monomers: geranyl methacrylate and citronellyl methacrylate and the commercially available monomer methyl methacrylate. Selected properties (solvent resistance, chemical resistance, glass transition temperature, thermal stability, and decomposition course during heating) were evaluated. It was found that the properties of the materials directly depended on the monomer percentage and the conditioning temperatures used. An increase in the geranyl or citronellyl methacrylate monomer content in the copolymers reduced the solubility and chemical resistance of the materials post-cured at 50 °C. The samples post-cured at 120 °C were characterized by high resistance to polar and non-polar solvents and the chemical environment, regardless of the percentage composition. The glass transition temperatures for samples conditioned at 120 °C increased with increasing content of methyl methacrylate in the copolymers. The thermal stability of copolymers depended on the conditioning temperatures used. It was greater than 200 °C for most copolymers post-cured at 120 °C. The process of pyrolysis of copolymers led to the emission of geranyl methacrylate, citronellyl methacrylate, and methyl methacrylate monomers as the main pyrolysis volatiles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials)

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14 pages, 8883 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Properties and Reliability of Parametrically Designed Architected Materials Using Urethane Elastomers

by Jun Morita, Yoshihiko Ando, Satoshi Komatsu, Kazuki Matsumura, Taisuke Okazaki, Yoshihiro Asano, Masashi Nakatani and Hiroya Tanaka

Polymers 2021, 13(5), 842; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13050842 - 09 Mar 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3811

Abstract

Achieving multiple physical properties from a single material through three-dimensional (3D) printing is important for manufacturing applications. In addition, industrial-level durability and reliability is necessary for realizing individualized manufacturing of devices using 3D printers. We investigated the properties of architected materials composed of ultraviolet (UV)-cured urethane elastomers for use as insoles. The durability and reliability of microlattice and metafoam architected materials were compared with those composed of various foamed materials currently used in medical insoles. The hardness of the architected materials was able to be continuously adjusted by controlling the design parameters, and the combination of the two materials was effective in controlling rebound resilience. In particular, the features of the architected materials were helpful for customizing the insole properties, such as hardness, propulsive force, and shock absorption, according to the user’s needs. Further, using elastomer as a component led to better results in fatigue testing and UV resistance compared with the plastic foam currently used for medical purposes. Specifically, polyethylene and ethylene vinyl acetate were deformed in the fatigue test, and polyurethane was mechanically deteriorated by UV rays. Therefore, these architected materials are expected to be reliable for long-term use in insoles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials)

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Review

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34 pages, 7680 KiB

Open AccessReview

Review on UV-Induced Cationic Frontal Polymerization of Epoxy Monomers

by Muhammad Salman Malik, Sandra Schlögl, Markus Wolfahrt and Marco Sangermano

Polymers 2020, 12(9), 2146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym12092146 - 20 Sep 2020

Cited by 52 | Viewed by 9242

Abstract

Ultraviolet (UV)-induced cationic frontal polymerization has emerged as a novel technique that allows rapid curing of various epoxy monomers upon UV irradiation within a few seconds. In the presence of a diaryliodonium salt photoinitiator together with a thermal radical initiator, the cationic ring opening polymerization of an epoxide monomer is auto-accelerated in the form of a self-propagating front upon UV irradiation. This hot propagating front generates the required enthalpy to sustain curing reaction throughout the resin formulation without further need for UV irradiation. This unique reaction pathway makes the cationic frontal polymerization a promising route towards the efficient curing of epoxy-based thermosetting resins and related composite structures. This review represents a comprehensive overview of the mechanism and progress of UV-induced cationic frontal polymerization of epoxy monomers that have been reported so far in literature. At the same time, this review covers important aspects on the frontal polymerization of various epoxide monomers involving the chemistry of the initiators, the effect of appropriate sensitizers, diluents and fillers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in UV Polymerization—New Polymeric Materials)

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