Synthesis of nanocomposite polymers by UV-radiation curing

Clay-based nanocomposite polymers have been synthesized by photoinitiated crosslinking polymerization of acrylate and epoxy functionalized oligomers. The solvent-free resin containing a small amount (3 wt%) of organophilic clay was cured within seconds upon UV irradiation at ambient temperature. The polymerization reaction was followed by infrared spectroscopy and shown to proceed at a great extent in thick samples (2 mm), due to the higher exotherm and the resulting rise in temperature. The organoclay was shown to have no slowing down effect on the photopolymerization of both acrylate and epoxy resins. The addition of clay nanoparticles was found to reduce the gloss of UV-cured coatings due to an enhanced surface roughness. The viscoelastic and tensile properties of the nanocomposite photopolymer were comparable to those of the neat UV-cured polymer, while their resistance to moisture was significantly increased.