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Bis(trihydroxymethyl)propane tetraacrylate

Release time:

2024-09-13 17:20

Bis(trihydroxymethyl)propane tetraacrylate
Bis(trihydroxymethyl)propane tetraacrylate

Di(trimethylolpropane) tetraacrylate (DiTMPTA), as a highly efficient reactive diluent, not only significantly reduces the viscosity of the formulation and improves its flowability and penetrability during application, but also actively participates in the curing reaction, ensuring that the final product maintains outstanding performance. While delivering a high curing speed, it also enables the formation of a high crosslinking density, thereby providing UV-curable coatings and inks with faster drying times, stronger adhesion, and superior abrasion and chemical resistance.

I. Di-trimethylolpropane tetraacrylate (DiTMPTA)

Bis-trihydroxymethylpropane tetraacrylate, also known as di-trihydroxymethylpropane tetraacrylate, is an important functional monomer that is widely used as an active diluent in the field of UV curing. It typically appears as a colorless to pale orange-to-yellow transparent liquid. It exhibits good solubility in certain organic solvents, such as alcohols, esters, and ketones.

DiTMPTA is a multifunctional monomer with four reactive functional groups, meaning it possesses multiple acrylate functional groups that can react with a variety of chemical substances. Under conditions where a conventional free-radical initiator (such as a photoinitiator) is used or in the presence of free radiation, DiTMPTA undergoes rapid polymerization. It exhibits excellent compatibility with acrylic prepolymers and can be used as an active diluent, participating in UV and EB radiation-induced crosslinking reactions.

Both di-trimethylolpropane tetraacrylate (DiTMPTA) and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) are based on trimethylolpropane, which is obtained through an esterification reaction between trimethylolpropane and acrylic acid. However, the number of acrylate groups attached to the molecule differs: TMPTA has three acrylate groups, whereas DiTMPTA has four. This difference arises because DiTMPTA’s molecular structure incorporates two specially modified TMP molecules. The increased functionality means that more crosslinking sites can be formed during the photopolymerization reaction, potentially influencing the performance of the cured product.

DiTMPTA possesses characteristics of high boiling point, high reactivity, low volatility, and low viscosity. Its low-viscosity property enables it to act as a diluent in UV-curable systems, reducing the overall viscosity of the formulation and facilitating application and coating. It can also participate in the UV-curing reaction, thereby accelerating the curing speed. Its multiple functional groups rapidly react with free radicals generated by photoinitiators, forming a crosslinked network structure that further speeds up the curing process. The molecular structure of Di-TMPTA contains flexible ether bonds, which help improve the elasticity and toughness of the cured material, reducing its brittleness. Meanwhile, its high reactivity ensures that the curing reaction proceeds thoroughly, enhancing the hardness and wear resistance of the cured product.

These characteristics enable it to maintain good stability and fluidity during the photopolymerization process, thereby effectively regulating the viscosity of the photopolymerization system and enhancing the curing speed and efficiency.

II. DiTMPTA-80 and DiTMPTA-90

DiTMPTA-80 and DiTMPTA-90 are modified products derived from di-trimethylolpropane tetraacrylate (DiTMPTA) via different chemical methods. The following introduces their key performance characteristics:

1. DiTMPTA-80

DiTMPTA-80 appears as a transparent liquid and is a compound with a functionality of 3.6. This means that during the modification process, although most of the original acrylate groups are retained, their functionality is slightly reduced through a special approach. As a result of this modification, its viscosity and density parameters will differ significantly.

Although the functionality of DiTMPTA-80 has slightly decreased, its crosslinking density remains relatively high because most of the acrylate groups have been retained. However, compared to the original DiTMPTA, its crosslinking density may be slightly lower, which could affect properties such as the hardness, wear resistance, and thermal stability of the cured product.

A reduction in functionality may imply that, during the photopolymerization reaction, DiTMPTA-80 will exhibit a slightly slower reaction rate compared to the original DiTMPTA. However, this difference may not be significant, depending on the extent of modification and the reaction conditions.

Due to the reduced functionality and potential structural changes, DiTMPTA-80 may exhibit improved flexibility and toughness after curing. This is advantageous for applications that require a certain degree of bendability or impact resistance.

2. DiTMPTA-90

DiTMPTA-90 appears as a transparent liquid. Although DiTMPTA-90 is a modified version of DiTMPTA, the modification process still retains the four acrylate groups, meaning that DiTMPTA-90 remains a tetrafunctional compound. The retention of tetrafunctionality enables DiTMPTA-90 to form a highly crosslinked network structure during curing, thereby endowing the cured product with excellent properties such as high hardness, wear resistance, and chemical resistance.

Other parameters of DiTMPTA-90, such as molecular weight, viscosity, density, and refractive index, differ slightly from those of DiTMPTA. However, these differences do not significantly alter its overall performance. Due to the preservation of the key functional groups, its performance is generally quite similar to that of DiTMPTA.

III. Conclusion

In summary, bis(trihydroxymethylpropyl) tetraacrylate (DiTMPTA) and its modified products, DiTMPTA-80 and DiTMPTA-90, serve as highly efficient reactive diluents that demonstrate outstanding performance in the field of UV curing. DiTMPTA, with its high curing speed, high crosslinking density, and low viscosity, significantly enhances the performance of UV-curable coatings and inks. DiTMPTA-80, through fine-tuning of its functionality, strikes a balance between crosslinking density and flexibility, making it suitable for specific application scenarios. Meanwhile, DiTMPTA-90 retains the advantage of having four functional groups, ensuring high performance of the cured products. These products provide strong support for the development of UV curing technology and drive innovation and progress in related industries.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethoxy-Modified Active Diluents

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Modified trimethylolpropane triacrylate

Trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) is a high-performance chemical substance prepared by esterification of trimethylolpropane (TMP) with acrylates. It features three acrylate functional groups, making it a trifunctional reactive diluent. TMPTA plays a crucial role in advanced material systems such as UV curing, thermal curing, and radiation curing. Its high reactivity and multifunctionality promote rapid crosslinking and curing of resins, thereby enhancing the physical properties and chemical stability of the final products. To further expand its application scope and performance characteristics, we can chemically modify TMPTA—for instance, by introducing different functional groups or chain segments—thus yielding a variety of modified products, such as 3EO-TMPTA, 3PO-TMPTA, and 9EO-TMPTA. These modified derivatives are designed to optimize TMPTA’s performance by increasing chain length, adjusting polarity, or altering other physicochemical properties.