Isobornyl Acrylate: A Versatile Monomer in Modern Chemistry

Introduction to Isobornyl acrylate

Isobornyl acrylate is a chemical substance with the molecular formula C13H20O2. This product is used in adhesives and special coatings, and has the characteristics of high activity, high hardness, and low shrinkage. The use of ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE as an active diluent in radiation cured coatings (inks) can effectively reduce the viscosity of the coatings (inks), improve the workability, and enhance the leveling of the coating.

Characteristics of Isobornyl Acrylic

Using ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE as an active diluent for epoxy acrylic oligomers can significantly reduce the internal stress of the coating, decrease the volume shrinkage rate of the coating, and thus significantly improve the adhesion, shrinkage rate, impact resistance, abrasion resistance, and weather resistance of radiation cured coatings, without reducing their hardness and flexibility. If ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE is used on the protective coating of optical discs, it has excellent adhesion and scratch resistance to fine grain surfaces, as well as excellent coating performance and significantly improves the gloss of the coating film.

ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE, as an active diluent for radiation cured coatings, has been widely used in fields such as metal coating, glass flexible plastic film, engineering plastics, and fiber optic coatings. It is also used in some special printing inks, such as outdoor inkjet and printing ink on polyethylene films. ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE is suitable for manufacturing high Tg thermoplastic acrylic resins. Its products have the characteristics of high hardness, high alcohol resistance, and heat resistance, as well as good flexibility, adhesion, moisture resistance, and weather resistance. It is a new type of acrylic polymer monomer with unique structural characteristics, suitable for manufacturing soft plastic film coatings such as PET, PE, PP, and decorative protective coatings for engineering plastic parts such as PE, PP, and PC.

Figure 1 Characteristics of  Isobornyl acrylate

The influence and improvement of Isobornyl acrylate

Isobornyl acrylate is an important chemical raw material that can be polymerized and copolymerized to form various polymers due to its unique structure with different carbon chain double bonds and ester groups. These polymers have strong adhesion, are not easily peeled off, and are flexible and elastic at room temperature. They also have excellent water resistance, making them widely used in heat-resistant plastic fibers, coatings, adhesives, optical resins, and other fields. However, most Isobornyl acrylate is currently produced through petrochemical routes. With the depletion of petroleum resources, there is increasing attention on how to use natural biomass resources to develop new acrylate monomers.

Production status of Isobornyl acrylate

China has abundant resources of turpentine, with its main components α-pinene and β-pinene containing a five-membered and six-membered rigid ring, respectively, which can give the monomer good heat resistance and water resistance. Isobornyl acrylate can be synthesized by esterification of the isomerization product of pinene, bornylene, and acrylic acid. Due to its unique alkyl structure, it can form polymers with unique properties with many monomers, making it an excellent monomer that combines hardness and flexibility.

Applications of Isobornyl Acrylate

Isobornyl acrylate is mainly used as a diluent monomer for UV/EB-curable resins. As a diluent monomer, it has good dilutability and after curing, it exhibits excellent adhesion, abrasion resistance, heat resistance, weather resistance, and water resistance. It is widely used in the fields of ink, coatings, adhesives, etc. As a diluent monomer for UV/EB-curable resins, it does not damage the performance of the resin main component prepolymer and oligomer and the properties of the cured product. During use, its viscosity decreases, so it is often used as an additional component to improve flowability and workability. During curing, it undergoes self-polymerization and becomes a component of the resin.

Conclusion

Isobornyl acrylate, as an active diluent for UV-curable coatings, reduces the viscosity of the coatings and improves their workability and film shrinkage. Both monomers give the coatings excellent toughness, scratch resistance, weather resistance, chemical resistance, high gloss, and decorative properties.

Reference

[1] Aerts O, Herman A, Mowitz M, et al. Isobornyl acrylate[J]. Dermatitis, 2020, 31(1): 4-12.

[2] Jakubowski W, Juhari A, Best A, et al. Comparison of thermomechanical properties of statistical, gradient, and block copolymers of isobornyl acrylate and n-butyl acrylate with various acrylate homopolymers[J]. Polymer, 2008, 49(6): 1567-1578.

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