Crosslinking Technology for Fast-Curing, High-Performance, Low-VOC Coatings
Crosslinking, or curing, is the process during which a multifunctional molecule participates in polymerization and is incorporated into polymer chains. Typical methods of crosslinking include: air-drying, condensation reactions, free radical curing (such as ultraviolet/electron beam or peroxides), and amine curing using Michael Addition reaction chemistry. Although all of these methods will ultimately crosslink and successfully form a coating, only ultraviolet/electron beam (UV/EB), peroxide, and amine systems produce fast-curing, high performance, low-VOC coatings.
One of the key benefits for coatings manufacturers using UV/EB, peroxide or amine cure methods is increased speed. With acrylate monomers and oligomers, cure times are reduced to nanoseconds (in the case of UV/EB curing) or to a few minutes or hours (in the case of peroxide or Michael Addition reaction chemistry). Fast cure times translate into increased profits, because more product can be manufactured in less time.