For A photopolymerization you need a UV-lamp and a photoinitiator that absorbs in the same region as the UV emitted from the lamp. This photoinitiator then will generate radicals that can start the polymerization. The monomers used will have an acrylic or methacrylic functionality. The unsaturation of the acryalate can form radicals and in this way polymerization starts (propagation). Next to monomers you can use oligomers that have a higher molecular weight compared to the monomers, these can have a wide variety of backbones (polyester, urethane, pure acrylic etc). Depending on the final application you can choose your raw materials.

For emulsion polymerization you will mainly use monomers, but when applying a coating onto a substrate you want to have a higher viscosity and you then would use oligomers.

Crosslinking will happen during the polymerization. normally for making coatings you want to have raw materials in your formulation that have a functionality of 2 or higher to ensure crosslinking. Higher functionalities can give you more shrinkage of your final product. Even when using monomers you can have crosslinking by means of dispropotionation.

Any more specific questions related to this?

Regards

For A photopolymerization you need a UV-lamp and a photoinitiator that absorbs in the same region as the UV emitted from the lamp. This photoinitiator then will generate radicals that can start the polymerization. The monomers used will have an acrylic or methacrylic functionality. The unsaturation of the acryalate can form radicals and in this way polymerization starts (propagation). Next to monomers you can use oligomers that have a higher molecular weight compared to the monomers, these can have a wide variety of backbones (polyester, urethane, pure acrylic etc). Depending on the final application you can choose your raw materials.

For emulsion polymerization you will mainly use monomers, but when applying a coating onto a substrate you want to have a higher viscosity and you then would use oligomers.

Crosslinking will happen during the polymerization. normally for making coatings you want to have raw materials in your formulation that have a functionality of 2 or higher to ensure crosslinking. Higher functionalities can give you more shrinkage of your final product. Even when using monomers you can have crosslinking by means of dispropotionation.

Any more specific questions related to this?

Regards

There are multiple photopolymerization reactions with various mechanisms.  Radically polymerized (meth)acrylate may be the most popular, but cationic epoxide and vinyl ether photopolymerizations and radical thiol-ene and thiol-yne polymerizations are also very prevalent.  Anionic photopolymerizations of thiols with acrylates or thiols with isocyanates and even photoinitiated azide alkyne cycloaddition are other examples.  Asking how photopolymerization work is a little like asking how chemistry works.

Hi Patricia, Thanks a lot for a brief reply.

I would like to read more about this, could you please suggest me some articles where I can clear basics before proceeding in to the details.

Hi Benjamin,

Thanks a lot for your reply.  I agree with you that asking how photo-polymerization work is more about asking how chemistry works. I would like to know more about the cross-linker which are being widely used in the photo-polymerization under UV along with monomers. 

Any suggestion: Book or article/ Review.

Thanks a lot

Regard

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aic.11678/full

is a good short review. 

There's a book by JP Fouassier called, "Photoinitiation, photopolymerization and photocuring: Fundamentals and applications" which is great.

Chemistry and Technology of Uv and Eb Formulation for Coatings, Inks & Paints, Volume 3: Photoinitiators for Free radical and Cationic Polymerisation

Dec 1991by K. K. Dietliker

I would check in the library where the book is available.

As Benjamin mentioned it is a huge topic. Radical photo-polymerisation of bulk material is often used, e.g. Printing artificial finger nails, dental applications.

J.P. Fouassier respective J. Lalevee are very familiar with this topic, some details concerning the initiation in my on work. In bulk inhibition, forming of slow or non-reacting radicals (like the mid chain radical) is an important aspect.

Article Introduction to analyzing the solidification of multifunctio...

Article Synthesis and testing of ZnO nanoparticles for photo-initiat...

Hi Michael,

Thanks a lot for attaching the article with post. This is great help.

Debarshi