The effect of hyperbranched polymer on the curing behavior of uv curable inkjet ink

In this research was investigated the effect of hyperbranched polymers on the curing behavior of UV curable inkjet inks. The terminal groups of a hyperbranched polymer with hydroxyl terminal groups were modified with fatty acid chains. The hyperbranched polym ers were used as an additive in a UV curable inkjet ink. The effect of hyperbranched polymers on the curing behavior of UV-curabl e inkjet ink was investigated by Real Time FTIR analysis. The results show that the hyperbranched polymers can improve curing process by increasing the conversion rate in third stage of curing process. All inks formulations with hyperbranched polymer loading show higher final conversion than neat sample. The highest conversion was 77% for blend contained hyperbranched polymer with h ydroxyl end groups while the neat sample shows 55% conversion. One can see UV curable inkjet inks containing hyper branched polymers with hydroxyl end groups show higher final conversion than neat sample.