The Effect of Different Irradiation Sources on Formulation Properties

Dr Mike J. Idacavage, CPS

Abstract: In almost all applications of UV Curing, the issue of oxygen inhibition must be addressed in one form or another. As such, different UV curable formulations must be optimized to contain an appropriate initiator package and UV light source to overcome oxygen inhibition which ads additional cost and development time. The advent of LED lights has enabled less expensive lights with increased operating lifetimes and improved energy efficiency. However, rather than covering a broad spectrum of wavelengths, LED lights emit in narrow bands of light. The narrow wavelength emission spectrum of LED lights will inevitably have an effect on both curing rates and oxygen inhibition. In this study, we evaluate the use of broadband mercury, both deep UV-LED and 385 nm LED lights, and Electron Beam curing across a range of different acrylic formulations. The different methods of curing are compared by examining their effect on oxygen inhibition, cure speed, and material properties.