One-step synthesis of novel multifunctional silicone acrylate prepolymers for use in UV-curable coatings

As reported herein, three multifunctional silicone acrylate prepolymers were obtained via the one-step hydrosilylation of pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETTA) and hydride-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (H-PDMS). The structures of these prepolymers were subsequently characterized by FT-IR and 1 H NMR spectroscopy techniques, which confirmed the successful synthesis of the target products. These prepolymers contain three acrylate groups at each end of the polysiloxane chain, which can participate in the UV curing process, and thus they have high UV curing activities. After the addition of a little photoinitiator, each of the prepolymers could be rapidly cured to yield a transparent film. The transparency of these cured films is over 95% on the surface of an underlying polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Water droplets exhibit water contact angles between 100° and 105° on this film, these films remain stable at temperatures reaching up to 356.0 to 386.8 °C, thus demonstrating that these films are hydrophobic and have excellent heat resistance. Finally, the coatings have good anti-smudge properties, and the overall results show that these films have potential applications as UV-curable anti-smudge coatings.