Synthesis and characterization of UV-cured epoxy acrylate resin with cyclic methacrylate as diluents

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effects on material performance in the epoxy acrylate resin system owing to the existence of the different ring of the cyclic methacrylate. In this paper, cyclic methacrylate as diluents was added into epoxy acrylate (EA) resin by ultraviolet (UV)-cured polymerization to investigate the effects on material performance owing to the existence of the different rings. Design/methodology/approach EA and 1-adamantyl methacrylate were synthesized by traditional methods according to previous papers, respectively. After adding different cyclic methacrylate as diluents to the EA oligomers, the system was exposed to the UV-light for polymerization. Findings The hydrophobic properties of the cured materials were increased slightly because of the alkyl groups from the methacrylate. The thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of the resins were enhanced by the cyclic diluents with the hard segments. Meanwhile, the crosslink density of the polymer decreased with the bulky group like adamantly owing to its huge structure. Research limitations/implications The cyclic methacrylates were introduced into EA oligomers for decreasing the viscosity and increasing the materials performances, which could be recognized as new diluents applied in UV-cued polymerization. Originality/value The results of this study will be conducive to fabricate EA resins possessed with high thermal stabilities and mechanical properties by convenient UV-cured polymerization.