UV-LED as a New Emerging Tool for Curable Polyurethane Acrylate Hydrophobic Coating

The elimination of mercury, low energy consumption, and low heat make the ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED) system emerge as a promising alternative to conventional UV-mercury radiation coating. Hence, a series of hydrophobic coatings based on urethane acrylate oligomer and fluorinated monomer via UV-LED photopolymerisation was designed in this paper. The presence of fluorine component at 1160 cm(-1), 1235 cm(-1), and 1296 cm(-1) was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy. A considerably high degree C=C conversion (96-98%) and gel fraction (95-93%) verified the application of UV-LED as a new technique in radiation coating. It is well-accepted that fluorinated monomer can change the surface wettability as the water contact angle of the coating evolved from 88.4 degrees to 121.2 degrees, which, in turn, reduced its surface free energy by 70.5%. Hence, the hydrophobicity of the coating was governed by the migration of the fluorine component to the coating surface as validated by scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. However, above 4 phr of fluorinated monomer, the transparency of the cured coating examined by UV-visible spectroscopy experienced approximately a 16% reduction. In summary, the utilisation of UV-LED was a great initiative to develop green aspect in photopolymerisation, particularly in coating technology.

Automated summary

This study utilized UV-LED technology to design a series of hydrophobic coatings based on urethane acrylate oligomer and fluorinated monomer, achieving high C=C conversion and gel fraction, reducing surface free energy, and enhancing hydrophobicity through migration of fluorine component. However, excessive fluorinated monomer content can lead to decreased transparency of the coating.