Acrylic resins for radiation curable coatings

Commercial acrylate oligomers are available that have a wide range of chemistries, functional group (acrylate) content, and viscosity. Among the most commonly used oligomers are difunctional polyester acrylates, epoxy acrylates, polyurethane acrylate and polyether acrylates. The chemical structures of oligomers control such properties as viscosity, reactivity, and thermo-mechanical properties of cured films. For example, epoxy esters produce much harder films compared to polyether acrylate of comparable 

These resins have been commercially available for more than half a century and are used in a diverse range of applications such as coatings, plastics, adhesives, and construction chemicals due to their important characteristics, as listed below. 

Besides these excellent characteristics, one major limitation associated with common classes of epoxy resins is their poor durability in exterior conditions. Nevertheless, epoxy resins have been the workhorse of high performance polymers for protective coatings where high corrosion and chemical resistance are important. 

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