Preparation of Poly(Lactic Acid) Acrylate for UV-Curable Coating Applications

Abstract

UV-curable process is widely used for paints, inks and adhesives due to its rapid curing, low energy consumption, high efficiency and low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The objective of this research is to prepare poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based UV-curable coating by using glycolyzed PLA. PLA was glycolyzed by ethylene glycol (EG) at 170°C for 90 minutes. The obtained glycolyzed PLA was reacted with methacrylic anhydride (MAAH) to provide PLA acrylate oligomer. The obtained PLA acrylate oligomer was used in coating formulations with various amounts of photoinitiator and cured under UV radiation. Physical properties of cured coating film were investigated such as pencil hardness, gloss and haze. The results showed that poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based UV-curable coating provided good physical properties.