The influence of silicon-containing acrylate as active diluent on the properties of UV-cured epoxydiacrylate films

A new silicon-containing acrylate, which can be a good active diluent for UV-curable epoxydiacrylate systems, was prepared by reacting N-cyclohexyl-γ-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane (CAMS) with trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) by Michael-type addition reaction. The reactivity of –NH groups of CAMS with the acrylic groups of TMPTA was characterized by FTIR. The contents of the new active diluent in the UV-cured polymeric films were varied between 5% and 15% by weight. Mechanical, physical, and thermal characterizations of the UV-cured films were investigated: An increase in silicon-containing acrylate content caused a dramatic change of the surface properties of the films, and a decrease in mechanical properties besides the relative elongation. Thermogravimetric analysis of silicon-containing acrylate revealed that incorporating silicon into the structure resulted in a high char yield at 700 °C. Water absorption values of UV-cured films were also affected by the amount of silicon-containing acrylate.