Low-Gloss Acrylic Flooring via Sequential UV-Visible Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flooring materials face challenges in maintaining high stain resistance while achieving low gloss without using matting agents, as stain resistance decreases with lower gloss levels, and existing ultraviolet-cured surface treatments with silica rapidly lose effectiveness due to porosity and adsorption of contaminants.
Innovation Solution
A cured product formed from an acrylic resin composition is created by sequentially irradiating with light in specific wavelength ranges: 300 nm or less, 700 nm or higher, and 400 nm or less, to achieve low gloss and high stain resistance without a matting agent, using a three-step curing process that activates and thermally and optically cures the composition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a matting agent (silica) is added to lower gloss, then surface gloss decreases, but stain resistance rapidly decreases due to porosity and adsorption of contaminants
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the matting agent (silica) from the composition entirely. Instead of using silica to achieve low gloss, the patent formulates a silica-free composition that cures to produce both low gloss and high stain resistance simultaneously, eliminating the harmful porous structure that causes contaminant adsorption
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the curing parameters by using a specific sequential irradiation process with different wavelength ranges (UV followed by visible light). This parameter change in the curing process enables the composition to achieve low gloss without requiring silica matting agents, thereby maintaining stain resistance
2Productivity
If conventional ultraviolet-curing is used, then curing speed is fast, but stain resistance is rapidly decreased due to abrasion of silicon included in the composition
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes silicon-containing matting agents from the composition. By formulating a silica-free system, the patent eliminates the source of abrasion that causes stain resistance to deteriorate over time, while maintaining efficient curing through the dual-wavelength light irradiation process
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite curing approach combining UV irradiation and visible light irradiation in sequence. This composite curing method produces a cured product with enhanced durability and stain resistance compared to conventional single-stage UV curing, while maintaining fast curing speed
3Illumination intensity
If gloss is lowered to 8 or less, then low gloss appearance is achieved, but contaminants cannot be erased and cleaning difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates silica matting agents from the composition. This removal creates a non-porous surface structure that achieves low gloss through the cured product's inherent properties rather than through light scattering by silica particles, resulting in a surface that is both low-gloss and easy to clean
Solution Approach 2:
The invention does the opposite of using porous materials - it creates a non-porous, dense cured product surface by eliminating silica fillers. This dense structure prevents contaminant penetration and adsorption, making the surface easy to clean while maintaining low gloss appearance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method results in a cured product with a surface gloss of 9 or less and excellent stain resistance, as demonstrated by a color coordinate deviation of 1 or less after iodine contamination, and shows improved abrasion resistance with minimal weight change during Taber testing.
Implementation Method 1
irradiating the resin composition with light having a wavelength of 300 nm or less in a nitrogen atmosphere including 10 to 10,000 ppm of oxygen and shrinking the resin composition or a surface of the cured product by an excimer generated by irradiated light to activate the resin composition
Implementation Method 2
irradiating the activated composition with light having a wavelength of 700 nm or higher to thermally cure the composition
Implementation Method 3
irradiating the thermally cured composition with light having a wavelength of 400 nm or less to optically cure the composition
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The present invention relates to a cured product having excellent stain resistance and low gloss, a method of manufacturing the same, and an interior material including the cured product. The cured product according to the present invention is formed by sequentially applying light in different specific wavelength ranges to a composition to cure the composition, thereby being capable of realizing a low gloss of 9 or less, based on a 60 degree gloss meter, without use of a matting agent and excellent stain resistance and exhibiting excellent abrasion resistance. Accordingly, the cured product may be usefully used as an interior material such as a flooring material.