NIRVANA - Near Infra-Red photoinitiated curing of industrial wood coatings and varnishes
Lead Participant:
INTRINSIQ MATERIALS LIMITED
Abstract
Radiation Curing utilising Light Emitting Diodes (LED) offers substantial energy savings for industrial wood coating applications compared to conventional UV mercury arc lamps (~60% less) and traditional gas fired drying systems (~90% less). However, the growth of Radiation Curing applications has been limited due to: Poor depth penetration of UV in pigmented coatings; Poor surface coating properties (due to oxygen inhibition) and the absence of optimised coating formulations. NIRVANA will deliver 3 novel solutions to these challenges by:
1. Developing an innovative near-infra red (NIR) photoinitiator within the 880-1000 nm transmission window where light is not typically absorbed or scattered.
2. Developing novel hybrid organic-inorganic nano-materials to increase surface cross linking density and hardness and reduce oxygen inhibition.
3. Creating formulations of 100% solids acrylate based resin wood coatings that can be cured using energy efficient NIR LED irradiation
1. Developing an innovative near-infra red (NIR) photoinitiator within the 880-1000 nm transmission window where light is not typically absorbed or scattered.
2. Developing novel hybrid organic-inorganic nano-materials to increase surface cross linking density and hardness and reduce oxygen inhibition.
3. Creating formulations of 100% solids acrylate based resin wood coatings that can be cured using energy efficient NIR LED irradiation
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| INTRINSIQ MATERIALS LIMITED | £103,564 | £ 62,138 |
Participant |
||
| INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED | £163,080 | £ 97,848 |
| ROBINSON BROTHERS LIMITED | £254,572 | £ 127,286 |
| TWI LIMITED | £180,662 | £ 180,662 |
| SHERWIN-WILLIAMS UK COATINGS LIMITED | £54,277 | £ 27,139 |
| UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL | £120,631 | £ 120,631 |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Katie Bailey (Project Manager) |