Tuning the mechanical performance and adhesion of polyurethane UV cured coatings by composition of acrylic reactive diluents

• The mechanical properties and adhesion of coatings can be tuned by reactive diluents.
• Coating properties are adjusted without changing the structure of oligomers.
• A model of viscosity alterations based on amount and type of diluents is shown.
• Differential dynamic mechanical analysis of free polymer films is demonstrated.
• Adhesion can be improved with increasing monomer content in a coating composition.

An approach to modify the properties of UV curable polyurethane coatings by altering the amount and functionality of acrylic reactive diluents, in order to optimize the coating performance, is demonstrated. Based on the rheology analysis, a model of the rheological behavior of the UV curable materials depending on the amount and type of a reactive diluent in the composition is demonstrated in this study. The relationships between the rheological behavior, the mechanical properties and adhesion of the coatings prepared from polyurethane UV curable compositions containing different amounts and functionalities of acrylic reactive diluents, have been investigated and discussed in this study. Based on the results of the study, the desired properties of UV cured coatings can be modeled and controlled without changing the nature of a particularly selected oligomer, thus maintaining the advantages of its chemical structure in a coating composition.