Electron beams, curing coatings with

Curing of Coatings with Electron Beams, y-Ray, X-Ray, and Planar Cathodes... 

Coating materials may be based on short or medium-oil alkyds (e.g. primers for door and window frames) nitrocellulose or thermoplastic acrylics (e.g. lacquers for paper or furniture finishes) amino resin-alkyd coatings, with or without nitrocellulose inclusions, but with a strong acid catalyst to promote low temperature cure (furniture finishes) two-pack polyurethanes (furniture, flat boards) unsaturated polyester resins in styrene with free-radical cure initiated by peroxides (furniture) or unsaturated acrylic oligomers and monomers cured by u.v. radiation or electron beams (coatings for record sleeves paperback covers, knock-down furniture or flush interior doors). 

Another relatively recent development is electron generators that are essentially sealed vacuum tubes with a 2.5 pm-thick silica ceramic window or a 5-10 pm titanium window as the beam exit. Such electron beam tubes or bulbs are capable of operating at 50 to 150 kV,64-67 71 and can be stacked into modules to cure wide webs. It is conceivable that a miniature electron beam could provide an efficient low-cost means to cure thin coatings, adhesives (clear and filled) and inks. Examples of such miniature electron beam equipment are shown in Figures 3.21 and 3.22. 

Lithographic Evaluation. Films were spin-coated onto silicon substrates from 10% solutions in chlorobenzene and prebaked at temperatures between 90 °C and 100°C for 1 hour to ensure solvent removal. The thickness of each film was about 5000 A. Electron beam exposures were performed on the AT T Bell Laboratories electron beam exposure system (EBES-I) operating at 20 kV with a beam adress and spot size both equal to 0.25 . A minimal cure time was required since there is no post-exposure reaction (4,16). 

Epoxy acrylates are also commonly used as oligomers in radiation-curing coatings and adhesives. However, their name often leads to confusion. In most cases, these epoxy acrylates have no free epoxy groups left but react through their unsaturation. These resins are formulated with photoinitiators to cure via uv or electron beam (EB) radiation. The reaction mechanism is generally initiated by free radicals or by cations in a cationic photoinitiated system. The uv/EB cured epoxy formulations are discussed in Chap. 14. 

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