Features of crosslinking polymerization in laser stereolithography

Abstract

The model of crosslinking polymerization in photopolymer for laser stereolithography has been proposed. The feature of this polymerization is that the initiation takes place by an irradiation with single pulse that should be enough to solidify the chosen parts of photopolymer. It is shown that despite of such initiation the polymerization passes the gel point due to the fast forming and crosslinking of polyradicals resulting in gel macromolecules. The influence of different factors (termination, trapping, crosslinking, cyclization) on position of the gel point is investigated. Branched level of macromolecules formed during polymerization is found to be mainly dependent on the rate of cyclization.