Toagosei Annual R&D Report “TREND” – Issue No. 21

The UV-curable SQ Series is an organic-inorganic hybrid resin combining photopolymerizable groups with a silsesquioxane backbone. Cationic OX-SQ and radical AC-SQ can be used as a UV curable resin, photocurable resin, crosslinkable resin, hard coating material, UV curable coating, optical coating material, or functional coating component. Their nanohybrid structure provides hardness, transparency, heat resistance, weather resistance, flexibility, and compatibility with UV-curable resins.

For hard coat and surface protection coating applications, OX-SQ TX-100 forms a 5H–6H pencil-hardness film, while AC-SQ forms a 6H film on glass. TX-100 also improves acetone resistance immediately after UV curing when blended with an alicyclic epoxy. These properties support high hardness coating, scratch resistant coating, anti scratch coating, abrasion resistant coating, clear hard coating, plastic protective coating, and protective coating designs intended to improve coating hardness and reduce surface damage. The cured materials maintain high modulus at elevated temperature and show 5% weight-loss temperatures of 390–400°C in nitrogen, supporting heat resistant resin, heat resistant coating, and chemical resistant coating formulations.

OX-SQ SI-20 contains silicone segments and produces a hydrophobic, water repellent coating surface with strong oil-based ink repellency and stain release. Repellency remained after 2,000 dry-wipe cycles, demonstrating abrasion resistance and making SI-20 a candidate for low surface energy coating, anti-smudge coating, and anti-fingerprint coating designs intended to improve water repellency and resist fingerprint stains.

Cationic OX-SQ cures in thin films without oxygen inhibition and shows low curing shrinkage of 2–5%; measured values were 2.6% for TX-100 and 4.6% for SI-20. This supports low shrinkage resin and low warpage resin design intended to limit warpage or cracking after curing. OX-SQ ME-20 provides high transparency and glossy surfaces for optical resin, high transparency resin, optical clarity, and optical coating applications.