Ambient temperature curing photopolymerizable epoxide compositions utilizing epoxide ethers and methods
AssigneeAmerican Can Company
InventorAnthony J. Tortorello
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Abstract
Photopolymerizable epoxide compositions are provided which contain photoinitiators decomposable upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation to produce a Lewis acid and polymerizable epoxide compounds including an epoxide ether compound having the following general structural formula: ##STR1## wherein n equals 1-3 and wherein R is an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic group having 5-12 carbon atoms. Other epoxide compounds may be used in combination therewith to provide compositions which cure rapidly to a tack-free condition at ambient temperatures. Specific epoxide ethers disclosed are those in which n=1 and R is a group selected from the class of 2,2-dimethylpropane, 2-ethyl-1,3-hexane, 1,4-dimethylcyclohexane and 1,10-decane.
Claims10
A photopolymerizable epoxide comprising:
- A. 50-99.9 percent by weight polymerizable epoxide compounds, at least 25 percent by weight of such epoxide compounds being an epoxide ether compound selected from the group consisting of 1,4-bis[(2,3-epoxypropoxy)methyl]-cyclohexane and 1,10-decamethylenedioxy-bis-(2,3-epoxypropane);
- and
- B. At least 0.1 percent by weight of a photoinitiator soluble in said epoxide compounds and decomposable upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation to provide a Lewis acid to initiate polymerization of said epoxide compounds, said composition being curable to a tack-free condition at ambient temperatures upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation for a period of 0.5 to 60 seconds.
In the method of cationic polymerization of an epoxide formulation, the steps comprising:
- A. admixing 50-99.9 percent by weight of cationically polymerizable epoxide compounds with at least 0.1 percent by weight of a photoinitiator soluble therein, said photoinitiator being decomposable upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation to provide a Lewis acid to initiate polymerization of said cationically polymerizable epoxide compounds to form a photopolymerizable composition, said cationically polymerizable compounds being comprised of at least 25 percent by weight of an epoxide ether compound selected from the group consisting of 1,4-bis[2,3-epoxypropoxy)methyl]-cyclohexane and 1,10-decamethylenedioxy-bis-(2,3-epoxypropane);
- and
- B. exposing said photopolymerizable composition to electromagnetic radiation at ambient temperatures to decompose said photoinitiator to generate a Lewis acid to initiate polymerization of said polymerizable epoxide materials, said exposure producing polymerization of said composition to a tack-free condition within a period of less than 60 seconds.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.