Preparation and properties of acrylic melamine hard coating

Melamine resin polymers exhibit high transmittance, high pencil hardness, and high refractive index. However, high temperatures and long reaction times are required to obtain the desired condensation products. In this study, acrylic‐modified melamine resins were synthesized that were cured by irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light. The synthesized acrylic‐modified melamine resins could be cured rapidly due to the radical reaction of the acrylic groups and retained high transparency and high refractive index as features of the melamine resin polymers. The polymerized film by UV curing had low shrinkage and high refractive index. Compared with general multifunctional moiety‐type acrylic monomers such as pentaerythritol triacrylate and dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate, the acrylic‐modified melamine resins had the same degree of hardness. In addition, flexibility, a feature of the urethane moiety, was imparted to the polymer by the reaction of residual hydroxyl groups with isocyanate. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 000: 000–000, 2010