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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Ethylene Polymerizations Using Parallel Pressure Reactors and a Kinetic Analysis of Chain Transfer Polymerization
Published on: November 27, 2015
Reaction kinetics and mechanics in photo-polymerised networks
1Biomaterials Research Group, School of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M15 6FH, UK. david.watts@man.ac.uk
Objectives:
The aim of this paper is to address the relationship, existing in photo-cure composites, between the polymer-network forming reactions, along with their kinetics, and the resultant stress-transmitting micro-mechanical behavior.
Methods:
Photon numbers and energies were calculated and compared for a simple model monomer-composite system. Expressions for light irradiance at depth within materials were computed and the consequences of steady-state assumptions in kinetic models of conversion and shrinkage-strain rate were considered.
Results:
The resultant stress-transmitting properties are a complex function of photon-transport, absorption by photo-initiators, possibly non-steady-state free-radical cross-linking, collapse of free-volume and development of an elastic-network displaying non-homogenous structure, viscoelasticity and aging effects.
Significance:
Researchers need to be aware of the complexity of these systems, so as to adequately control experimental variables and to develop more sophisticated models and hypotheses for experimental validation.
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