How to Prevent Gelation in UV Resin

Release time:

2023/10/26 10:53

Gelation refers to the phenomenon in which UV resins or coatings become thickened or clumped under specified temperature and time conditions. The main causes of gelation in UV resins or coatings include the following:

1. Once the shelf life has expired, UV resin, under proper storage conditions, has a shelf life of no more than six months. However, it’s best to use it up within three months.

2. UV resin should be stored in plastic drums or metal drums with an inner plastic coating. Metal ions can lower the activation energy of the double bonds in UV resin, triggering a polymerization reaction that leads to gelation of the resin. Therefore, if the plastic coating inside a plated drum is damaged and the metal layer is exposed, it can cause the resin to gel.

3. Storage temperatures that are too low (below 0°C) can cause the polymerization inhibitor in the paint film to precipitate, leading to self-polymerization of the resin and subsequent gelation of the resin.

4. During storage, UV resin must be strictly protected from direct sunlight. Otherwise, the resin is likely to gel prematurely.

5. If the buckets are filled too full, leaving insufficient oxygen to inhibit polymerization, the resin will undergo gelation.

Precautions for gelation:

1. Resins without added diluent monomers have very high viscosity. Some users might mistakenly think the resin has already gelled. However, it’s easy to check whether the resin has gelled by simply heating it up. A resin that hasn’t gelled will exhibit excellent flowability when heated.

2. Regarding issues with UV resin usage, the methods and indicators for testing UV coating films are similar to those used for other coatings; however, they may vary depending on the specific application. Various problems can arise during the application of UV coatings. Only gelation during storage is closely related to the UV resin itself; all other issues can be addressed by adjusting the formulation of the UV coating. Since UV coatings consist of a variety of components and are also influenced by factors such as the distance from the light source and the duration of illumination, the performance of the coated film is the result of the combined effects of these various factors. Even with the same formulation, if a different manufacturer’s resin is substituted, the film performance will change due to inherent differences among resins from different suppliers. In such cases, it is necessary to adjust the formulation accordingly. However, as long as the resin has not undergone gelation or gelation has not occurred in the prepared coating mixture, the film performance can be fine-tuned by modifying the formulation.

3. There are many factors that can cause UV coatings to gel; it’s not solely related to the resin itself. First, you should check whether improper storage conditions are the culprit. Since UV coatings contain photoinitiators, their storage requirements are somewhat stricter than those for UV resins. They must be stored in a dark environment, completely shielded from light. Second, if the quality of the photoinitiator used is poor, even when stored in darkness, it may gradually decompose and cause the cured coating to gel.

4. The quality of the individual components is also an important factor affecting storage stability.

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