UV curing of a novel resin derived from poly(ethylene terephthalate)

The synthesis and characterization of photopolymerizable unsaturated polyester resins based on PET waste are described. The resins came from a depolymerization process based on the glycolysis of PET by diethylene glycol (DEG). Different molecular weights of glycolysates were synthesized. Then, the latter was functionalized. by a methyl hemiester of maleic acid to obtain unsatured alpha,omega-bismaleate PET oligomers. In the presence of an electron donor monomer, such as triethylene glycol divinyl ether, these electron acceptor oligomers were copolymerized by way of charge-transfer complexes under UV irradiation. The reaction was monitored in situ by real-time IR spectroscopy to study the kinetics of photopolymerization. This one was studied in relation with the physical and chemical characteristics of oligoesters and the composition of mixtures containing divinyl ethers. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.