Development of hard materials by radiation curing technology

For studying nanoglobular modification effects in radiation cured polymeric composites, we prepared polymerization active silico-organic nanoparticles. With their polymerization active ligands, these nanoparticles form crosslinks by modifying the viscoelastic properties in radiation cured polymeric nanocomposites. In this process, there was a polymerization activity imparted to the particle surfaces of nanopowders, thus applying the physico-chemical modification scheme of a heterogeneous copolymerization to novel scratch and abrasion resistant coatings. By varying the nanoparticle-monomer formulation and the curing method, additional property can be achieved. In this works, we also investigated the influence of various factors such as addition of photoinitiators and other additives into the formulations. The coating materials were applied to the substrate by using different type of coaters. These materials were cured by ultraviolet light and electron beam irradiation. Properties of coatings were characterized using Universal scratch tester and Taber abrasion tester. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.