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 adds 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, 385 nm LED and electron beam (EB) 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.
From coatings to biomedical implants to photolithographically controlled materials, photopolymerization has dramatic advantages. It can be utilized for in situ cure materials at whatever time, location and three-dimensional pattern desired. It is one of the most energy-efficient processes known and can be used as a 100% solvent-free process. One drawback that must be overcome in most photopolymerization applications is the severe inhibition of these polymerizations by the ubiquitous presence of oxygen.