ANALYSIS OF THERMAL CURVES OBTAINED DURING RADIATION CURING OF POLYMERIC FILMS

Thermal curves were obtained during the UV curing process of a film containing reactive oligomers by monitoring in "real time" the temperature of the film surface by means of a high sensitive thermocouple. The system can be reproduced by a mathematical model that allows one, in well-defined conditions, to obtain the thermal curve of the system when the physical parameters of the materials, the polymerization enthalpy, and the kinetics of the double bond conversion are known. By using the kinetic data obtained through real time FTIR analysis, the model allows one to obtain the theoretical thermal curve of the system. The agreement between this curve and that obtained experimentally was found satisfactory, thus confirming the validity of the model proposed. The possible applications of the method are discussed.