COSI 2006
June 26th - June 30th 2006
Noordwijk, The Netherlands

  2nd Coatings Science International 2006

 

 

Kurt Dietliker

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc., Basel, Switzerland

 
Title Lecture
Advancements in Photoinitiators – opening up new Applications for Radiation Curing
 
Abstract
Over the past decades, radiation curing has found widespread use in an increasing number of industrial applications. Photoinitiators are key components in all photopolymerizable formulations, which allow the effi­cient transformation of the energy of light into chemical energy in the form of initiating species. A variety of efficient photoinitiators for different applications is today commercially available and used in coatings, printing inks or electronic materials.
However, several challenges for radiation curing still remain. These include for example the curing of thick or highly pigmented coatings or of coatings applied on three dimensional objects. Odor and extractables in the cured coatings are another issue of concern. Newly emerging applications eventually create novel requirements for the curing process and the properties of the cured material.

Further improvements of photoinitiators and the development of new compounds are therefore essential for the further expansion of the UV curing technology. Modern photoinitiators are in fact more than just catalysts for the polymerization process: they are an integral part of sophisticated formulations, providing excellent properties in the manufacturing process and during the service time of the cured article. This will be illustrated by some recent developments in photoinitiators.

Well-approved initiator classes for radical photopolymerization have been significantly improved and optimized for use in coatings for outdoor applications and in printing inks. The new compounds allow fast cure and provide excellent properties to the cured coating, including no yellowing after cure and upon long-term weathering and low odor and extractables in printing inks.

A new type of photoinitiator has recently been introduced for use in color filter fabrication. The compound can meet the challenging requirements regarding light transmission in the resist material, thereby guaranteeing the purity of the color in the display
The development of photolatent amines, a completely new class of photoinitiators, has eventually made new resin types accessible for radiation curing. Either conven­tional coating formulations or newly designed formulations can be used with these photoinitiators. The alternative base catalyzed curing mechanism allows to overcome some of the limits of radically curing formulations. Coatings of excellent performance are obtained, and the scope of radiation curing is considerably expanded by this new technology.
 
Biography

Kurt Dietliker studied organic chemistry at the University of Zurich and received his PhD for a thesis on the photochemistry of aminoazirine and isoxazole heterocyles. After a postdoctoral year at the University of Fribourg focusing on the elucidation of the di-p-methane rearrangement, he joined the research department of the Additives Division of the former Ciba-Geigy AG in Marly.

After a short time dedicated to other topics, he became involved in photoinitiator research. Over the years, his work focused on the development of several new photoinitiators for radical and cationic curing. In addition to numerous patents and scientific papers in this field, he is the author or co-author of three books on photoinitiators.
Currently he holds the position of a Senior Research Fellow and is responsible for the development of new photolatent acids and bases for the Coating Effect Segment of Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc. in Basel.
 
 
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