Photopolymerization kinetics of an epoxy based resin for stereolithography

Curing reactions of photoactivated epoxy resins are assuming an increasing relevance in many industrial applications, such as coatings, printing, and adhesives. Besides these processes, stereolithography (SL) makes use of photoactivated resins in a laser-induced polymerization for 3D building. The kinetic behavior of photocuring is a key point for full comprehension of the cure conditions occurring in the small zone irradiated by the laser beam during the building process. Furthermore, the kinetic analysis is very important to determine the cure time needed for part building in a stereolithographic equipment. The mechanisms involved in a cationic photopolymerization are complex compared with radical photopolymerization. In this paper the photoinitiated polymerization of a commercially available epoxy-based resin for stereolithography (SL5170) was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Substantial information about the SL5170 chemical composition and curing mechanism was determined through FTIR analysis. The polymerization rate and the maximum degree of reaction were determined directly from experimental DSC curves. Kinetic characterization of epoxy photopolymerization was carried out as a function of the temperature and irradiation intensity and experimental results were compared with an original mathematical model.