Influence of temperature and UV intensity on photo-polymerization reaction studied by photo-DSC

Photo-DSC was used to investigate the cure kinetics of a photo-initiated resin. The exothermal photo-polymerization reactions were performed in isothermal mode. The irradiation of photo-initiated resin was studied under different conditions of temperature, UV lamp intensity, and reaction atmosphere (nitrogen and air). The results obtained by photo-DSC allowed us to determine kinetic data of the photo-polymerized reactions: the global activation energy and reaction enthalpy, and the conversion as a function of time and temperature. Modulated temperature DSC measurements were carried out to verify whether vitrification occurs during polymerization. The conversion at the top and bottom of irradiated samples was obtained by FT-IR spectroscopy before and after photo-polymerization. A non-homogenous photo-polymerization into the material was observed, probably because of the light absorptions effects within the uppermost layers.