Investigation of Cure and Nanomechanical Properties of Weatherable UV-Cured Hardcoats

Jennifer David, Momentive Performance Materials

Abstract: The majority of automotive polycarbonate headlamp lenses are coated with UV-curable coatings in order to improve weathering performance as well as abrasion and chemical resistance to fulfill SAE/FMVSS requirements. In this study the use of different UV-lamps and their impact on physical properties of 3-5 year weatherable coatings for automotive headlamps is summarized. Double bond conversion was measured by FTIR-ATR and mechanical properties were measured by nanoindentation. These results were correlated with cure and typical physical property techniques.