UV LED SURFACE CURING

The lack of surface cure in thin coating layers due to oxygen inhibition is a common issue when curing by LED. To overcome these issues, reactive chemicals are used to ensure the surface of the coating layer is cured, generally by providing an abstractable hydrogen. Amino acrylates are a common reactive chemical used to address the lack of surface cure of the coating layer. Multiple amino acrylates were evaluated for their ability to increase surface cure and compared to one another along with an industry standard, which will be discussed here. While amino acrylates are commonly used, LED booster-type materials are another avenue to provide the surface cure that is needed, while ensuring that all regulatory needs are met. Multiple LED booster-type materials have been developed recently to be used in a variety of applications. These materials will be evaluated and compared to one another along with an industry standard. These materials provide the added benefit of a low migration material that helps ensure the increasingly rigorous needs of the packaging market are met.