The effects of photochemical and photonic parameters are investigated on the chain length of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) as formed by the free radical photopolymerization process.

The production of thick materials by photopolymerization, such as those required for fiber-reinforced polymer is still rather scarce today. This fact is mainly attributed to the low penetration depth of the light into the composites. In this paper, it will be first shown that glass fiber composites can be formed easily by using a suitable photoinitiating system. Secondly, attention will be paid on carbon fiber composite where a dual-cure initiating system based on both a photoinitiator and a thermal initiating system is able to produce polymer part of few millimeters in a relatively short time scale.

Three photoinitiating systems (PIS) exhibiting different photoinitiation mechanisms were used for radical photopolymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA). Namely, a photoactive RAFT agent (N,N benzyl dimethyldithiocarbamate), a type II photoinitiating system (isopropylthioxanthone/amine)...