New developments in UV radiation curing of protective coatings

Recent advances in photoinitiated cross-linking will be presented, in particular regarding the efficiency of novel photoinitiators, monomers and functionalised oligomers, as well as the performance of the polymers obtained by this environmental-friendly technology. Such ultra-fast reactions can be easily followed in real-time and quantitatively by infrared spectroscopy, to assess the influence of chemical and physical parameters on the polymerisation kinetics. Because of their remarkable properties and high resistance, such ultraviolet (UV)-cured coatings proved particularly efficient to protect a large variety of materials (plastics, metals, paper, wood) against chemical attack, corrosion and weathering.