Synthesis and characterization of hard materials based on radiation cured bio-polymer and nanoparticles

In this work, ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) radiation were used to cure coatings of acrylated epoxydized palm oil (EPOLA) containing different proportions of nanoparticle (SiO2), the influence of various factors such as addition of photoinitiators and other additives in the formulations were investigated. The coating materials were cured by ultraviolet light and electron beam irradiation. The cured films or materials were characterized by gel fraction and swelling techniques. The effect of nanoparticles on the performance and properties of the cured coating such as scratch resistance, pencil hardness, pendulum hardness, abrasion resistance were also been investigated. The nanoparticle induced both a bulk and a surface modification of cured coatings with an increase gel content and surface hardness by increasing the amount of silica into the photocurable resin. The strong decrease on water uptake in the presence of SiO2 makes these nanocomposites particularly interesting for our investigation.