Mike Idacavage
Advisor
Nagase America
Dr. Mike J. Idacavage received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1979. Mike’s work in the area of energy curing started at Eastman Chemicals with the establishment of a photopolymer lab in 1985. In 2003, Mike received the President’s Award for Outstanding Achievements to the Radiation Curing Industry from RadTech North America. He was also the President of RadTech North America for the 2009 to 2010 term. Currently, Mike is an advisor to RadTech and several companies in addition to being an Adjunct Associate Professor at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, NY, teaching courses in UV and EB curing technology.
MeAOMA – A Unique and Versatile Alternative to Traditional Acrylate Monomers for Coatings
Methyl 2-Allyloxymethyl Acrylate (MeAOMA) is a fast-curing, low-viscosity monomer with excellent dilution characteristics. This straight chain monomer undergoes intramolecular photopolymerization and cyclizes to form five-member tetrahydrofuran rings in the polymer backbone when undergoing free radical cure. This unique ability contributes to several useful performance properties of the cured resin. Cured MeAOMA exhibits excellent adhesion to a wide range of polymer, metal and glass substrates, and can serve as an adhesion promoter. The homopolymer of MeAOMA demonstrates a unique combination of high toughness and high Tg along with good flexibility when compared to other monomers such as IBOA. Interestingly, laboratory work has shown that MeAOMA can also increase the heat resistance of the cured photopolymer.