阅读说明：本技术 用于涂布光纤的可辐射固化组合物 (Radiation curable compositions for coating optical fibers ) 是由 任康太 约翰·弗朗兹·格拉迪·安东尼厄斯·詹森 于 2019-08-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本文描述和要求保护的是由初级和/或次级涂料组合物生产经涂布光纤的方法,所述初级和/或次级涂料组合物包含具有平均至少一个可聚合基团的反应性低聚物、具有平均至少一个可聚合基团的单体和光引发剂,其中所述光引发剂在150摄氏度下具有指定的归一化聚合速率和/或具有一定电离电势值的电势激发三重态。本文还描述并要求保护与之一起使用的组合物,包括初级涂料组合物和次级涂料组合物。进一步描述和要求保护的是由在其他地方描述的所述方法和/或组合物生产的经涂布光纤。(Described and claimed herein are methods of producing coated optical fibers from a primary and/or secondary coating composition comprising a reactive oligomer having an average of at least one polymerizable group, a monomer having an average of at least one polymerizable group, and a photoinitiator, wherein the photoinitiator has a specified normalized polymerization rate at 150 degrees celsius and/or a potential excited triplet state having an ionization potential value. Also described and claimed herein are compositions for use therewith, including primary coating compositions and secondary coating compositions. Further described and claimed are coated optical fibers produced by the methods and/or compositions described elsewhere.)

1. A method for producing a coated optical fiber, comprising the steps of:

(a) drawing a glass optical fiber by a drawing tower;

(b) applying a primary coating composition to a surface of a glass optical fiber;

(c) optionally, applying a dose of UV light to at least partially cure the primary coating composition;

(d) applying a secondary coating composition to the primary coating composition;

(e) exposing the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to at least one radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet light to affect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to form a cured primary coating on a surface of an optical fiber, and a cured secondary coating on a surface of the cured primary coating;

wherein at least one of the primary coating composition or the secondary coating composition comprises a reactive oligomer comprising an average of at least one polymerizable group;

a monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group; and

a photoinitiator;

wherein the selected photoinitiator has:

(i) a normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ of greater than 0.5, or between 0.35 and 0.9, or between 0.5 and 0.9, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150 ℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25 ℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of a photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by the RT-FTIR method using ATR crystals having a 60 micron film and an irradiance of 20mW/cm²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb; or

(ii) Excited triplet states with ionization potentials of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) in conjunction with the Coumann theorem (IP ═ ε)_HOMO) And (4) calculating.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet light to affect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of one or more LEDs; wherein one or more LEDs emit actinic radiation with a peak spectral output of 375nm to 450 nm.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the photoinitiator comprises a compound substituted with an alkyl, aryl or acyl group, wherein the alkyl, aryl or acyl substituted compound further has an atom selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, tin and lead.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound having a structure according to the following formula (I):

wherein Ar is₁Is an aromatic radical which is unsubstituted or further substituted in any position by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, further aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals, wherein R is₁、R₂And R₃Independently an acyl group, an aryl group, an alkyl group or a carbonyl group, which is unsubstituted or further substituted as follows: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, additional aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups, or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals.

6. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the primary coating composition comprises, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

from 40 to 80 weight percent of the reactive oligomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group;

10 to 60 weight percent of the monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group;

0 to 40 weight percent of the additive component;

0.005 to 5 weight percent of the photoinitiator; wherein the composition further comprises a glass adhesion promoter.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the secondary coating composition comprises, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

10 to 80 weight percent of the reactive oligomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group;

10 to 60 weight percent of the monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group, wherein the monomer further comprises a monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound and a multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound;

from greater than 0 wt% to 40 wt% of the additive component;

0.005 to 5 wt% of the photoinitiator.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein,

the additive component of the secondary coating composition further comprises a pigment; and/or

The multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound comprises bisphenol a diacrylate.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the photoinitiator, when incorporated into a mixture of 1.5mg of a secondary coating composition comprising 4.8mmol weight of photoinitiator, and when cured and measured according to the LED-DSC method at 105 ℃ and using a 400nm LED light source, exhibits a film surface cure, expressed as a percent reactive acrylate unsaturation (% RAU), of at least 60%, or at least 80%, or at least 85%, or from 60 to 91%.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the stretching is performed under one of the following conditions: at a drawing speed of more than 1500m/min, or more than 1700m/min, or more than 2000m/min, or more than 2500m/min, or more than 3000m/min and less than 5000m/min, or less than 4000m/min, or less than 3100 m/min; or in the absence of helium, or at a rate of less than 20 standard liters per minute (SLM) or less than 10 SLM.

11. A composition for coating an optical fiber comprising

A urethane acrylate oligomer that is the reaction product of an isocyanate, a polyol, and a (meth) acrylate monomer;

a reactive diluent monomer;

optionally, one or more additives; and

norrish type I photoinitiator; wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator has: (a) excited triplet states with ionization potentials of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) in conjunction with the Copmann's theorem (IP ═ ε)_HOMO) Calculating; and/or (b) a normalized polymerization rate at 150 degrees Celsius (C) of 0.35 to 0.9, or 0.4 to 0.8, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of a mixture at 150℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of a Norrish type I photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of an ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by the RT-FTIR method using ATR crystals having a 60 micron film and an irradiance of 20mW/cm²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb.

12. The composition of claim 11, wherein the radiation curable composition is substantially free of pigment,

or wherein the pigment is present in an amount of less than 0.05 wt.%, or less than 0.01 wt.%, or less than 0.005 wt.%, relative to the weight of the entire composition.

13. The composition of any one of claims 11-12, wherein the composition is substantially free of acylphosphine oxide photoinitiators.

14. The composition according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the composition is a primary coating composition further comprising an adhesion promoter, and wherein, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

the urethane acrylate oligomer is present in an amount of 40 to 90 weight percent;

the reactive diluent monomer is present in an amount from 5 wt% to 60 wt%;

the additive is present in an amount of 0 to 40 wt%; and

the Norrish type I photoinitiator is present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%.

15. The composition according to any one of claims 11-14, wherein the composition is a secondary coating composition, and wherein, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

the urethane acrylate oligomer is present in an amount of 10 to 85 weight percent;

the reactive diluent monomer further comprises

A monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound present in an amount of from 0 wt% to 20 wt%, and

a multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound present in an amount of 10 to 75 weight percent;

the additive is present in an amount of 0 to 40 wt%; and

the Norrish type I photoinitiator is present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%.

16. The composition of any one of claims 11-15, wherein the urethane acrylate oligomer has an average of 0.8 to 2.2 polymerizable groups, or an average of 1.8 to 2.2 polymerizable groups, and wherein the polyol comprises polypropylene glycol.

17. The composition of any one of claims 11-16, wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound having a structure according to the following formula (I):

wherein Ar is₁Is an aromatic radical which is unsubstituted or further substituted in any position by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, further aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals, wherein R is₁、R₂And R₃May independently be acyl, aryl, alkyl or carbonyl, unsubstituted or further substituted as follows: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, additional aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups, or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals; one of the following conditions is also satisfied:

(a)R₁-R₃each of which is an aryl-substituted group or an aromatic acyl group; or

(b) If R is₁-R₃Exactly two of which are aryl-substituted radicals or aromatic acyl radicals, the remaining substituted radicals then being C₁-C₁₀An alkyl group; or

(c) If R is₁-R₃Wherein exactly one is an aryl-substituted group or an aromatic acyl group, and the remaining two substituted groups are C₁-C₁₀An alkyl group; or

(d)R₁-R₃Each of which is C₁-C₁₀An alkyl group.

18. The composition according to claim 17, wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator comprises at least 80% by weight, relative to the total weight of all Norrish type I photoinitiators present in the composition, of one or both of the following compounds:

Technical Field

The present invention relates to radiation curable compositions for coating optical fibers, methods of coating optical fibers at high draw speeds, low helium processing conditions, and/or by LED light sources; and optical fibers and optical cables produced therefrom.

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application nos. 62/724729 and 62/724738 filed on 30/8/2018, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

Background

Optical fibers have been used in a variety of applications and have several advantages over other media. For example, data may be transmitted over optical fibers at higher data rates than over wires. Optical fibers are also lighter and more flexible than wires. Optical fibers, in particular those made of glass, are therefore often used in the telecommunications industry for data transmission. However, if left unprotected, optical fibers are not suitable for field use due to the fragility of the thin glass strand (glass strand) that carries the optical signal. In addition to being susceptible to physical damage, uncoated optical fibers can also be adversely affected by moisture exposure. Therefore, surface coatings have long been applied to optical fibers for protection and to ensure a high level of performance.

It is well known to draw glass fibers from specially prepared cylindrical preforms which have been locally and symmetrically heated to a temperature of, for example, about 2000 degrees celsius (° c). Glass fibers are drawn from the molten material as the preform is heated, such as by feeding the preform into and through a furnace. The surface coating composition is preferably applied to the glass fibers immediately after they have been drawn from the preform, preferably after cooling. The coating composition is then cured to produce a coated optical fiber. The general method of applying a two-layer coating composition to moving glass fibers is well known in the art and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4474830 to Taylor and U.S. Pat. No. 3, 4851165 to Rennell et al. Newer fiber design concepts can be found in US 8837892, US 2014/0294355, and US 2015/0071595.

In order to protect the optical fiber, two or more superimposed radiation curable coatings are often applied to the optical fiber immediately after the optical fiber is produced by drawing. The coating in direct contact with the optical fiber is referred to as the "inner primary coating" and the cover coating is referred to as the "outer primary coating". In some references, the inner primary coating is also referred to simply as the "primary coating", while the outer primary coating is referred to as the "secondary coating". The inner primary coating is typically formulated to have a significantly lower modulus than the secondary coating.

The relatively softer inner primary coating provides resistance to microbending that results in increased signal transmission attenuation (i.e., signal loss) of the coated optical fiber and is therefore undesirable. Microbends are microscopic curvatures in optical fibers, involving local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial wavelengths of a few millimeters. Microbending may be induced by thermal stress and/or mechanical lateral forces. The coating may provide lateral force protection that protects the optical fiber from microbending, but as the coating thickness decreases, the amount of protection provided decreases. For example, in D.Gloge, "Optical-fiber packaging and its in flow on fiber strain and loss", Bell System Technical Journal, Vol.54, 2,245 (1975); gardner, "labeling Loss in Optical Fibers," Bell System Technical Journal, Vol.54, No.2, p.457 (1975); baldauf, "Relationship of Mechanical Characteristics of Dual Coated Single Mode Optical Fibers and Microbending Loss", IEICE Trans.Commun, Vol.E 76-B, No.4, 352 (1993); and K.Kobayashi, "Study of micro-bending Loss in Thin Coated Fibers and Fiber Ribbons", IWCS,386(1993), discusses the relationship between coatings and protection from lateral stresses that cause Microbending. The harder outer primary coating (i.e., the secondary coating) provides resistance to processing forces such as those encountered when the coated fibers are formed into ribbons and/or formed into cables.

Optical fiber secondary coating compositions typically comprise, prior to curing, a mixture of ethylenically unsaturated compounds, typically consisting of one or more oligomers and a photoinitiator dissolved or dispersed in a liquid ethylenically unsaturated diluent. The coating composition is typically applied to the optical fiber in liquid form and then exposed to actinic radiation to effect curing, which in turn establishes a cured coating.

The primary coatings preferably have a higher refractive index than the associated cladding so that they can eliminate false optical signals from the core of the optical fiber. The primary coating should maintain sufficient adhesion to the glass fibers during heat aging and hydrolytic aging, but also be able to peel off from the glass fibers for splicing purposes, if desired. The primary coating typically has a low in situ modulus. Such in situ modulus values are typically less than 3MPa or less than 2MPa at e.g. 25 ℃, as measured by the method described in US7171103, but significantly lower values are also known. The primary coating typically has a thickness in the range of 20-50 μm (e.g., about 25 μm or 32.5 μm), with reduced thicknesses in the range of 15-25 μm typically being used for 200 μm fibers.

The primary coating is typically applied to the glass fibers and then cured. Various additives may also be present to enhance one or more characteristics of the primary coating, including antioxidants, adhesion promoters, inhibitors, photosensitizers, carrier surfactants, adhesion promoters, catalysts, stabilizers, surfactants, and optical brighteners.

The secondary coating is an outer coating, as described in WO 2016028668. The secondary coating is, for example, the polymerization product of a coating composition whose molecules become highly crosslinked upon polymerization. The secondary coating typically has a high in-situ modulus (e.g., greater than about 800MPa, more preferably between about 1GPa and about 3GPa, at 25 ℃) and a high T_g(e.g., greater than about 50 deg.C). The in situ secondary modulus is preferably greater than about 1000 MPa. The secondary coating usually hasA thickness of less than about 40 μm.

Optical fiber coatings (including primary and secondary layers) are typically applied using one of two methods: wet-on-wet (WOW) and wet-on-dry (WOD). In the WOD process, the fibers are first subjected to a primary coating application, which is then cured by exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The fibers then undergo secondary coating application, which is then cured by a similar method. In the WOW process, the fibers are subjected to both primary and secondary coating applications, then the fibers proceed to a curing step. In the wet-on-wet process, the curing lamps between the application of the primary coating and the application of the secondary coating are eliminated.

Radiant light energy is used in the manufacture of radiation curable coatings for optical fibers. Specifically, the curing process uses radiant energy from an ultraviolet lamp to cure the optical fiber coating. Ultraviolet lamps with a broad spectrum of mercury are widely used in industry because their high intensity and broad emission spectrum ensure a fast and complete curing of such radiation curable coatings.

Increasingly, curing systems utilizing UV-LED (light emitting diode) lamps have also begun to be used because their efficient construction enables the fiber production process to have reduced energy input. LED curing systems have significant advantages over conventional mercury lamps, including reduced power consumption, instant-on switching functionality, longer lamp life, no heating of the substrate, reduced maintenance, and greater environmental sustainability. Thus, it is speculated that the need to integrate UV LED technology into optical fiber coating processes will continue to grow in the next few years.

However, LED curing systems are known to have different requirements for coatings with which they are used. This presents new challenges to coating design. These challenges need to be addressed and overcome before the optical fiber coating industry has fully utilized and accepted them. The first challenge is introduced because LED-based systems typically have a lower irradiance than conventional mercury lamps at a given emitted radiation wavelength. To compensate for this and/or due to reduced manufacturing costs, commercially available LED-based systems employ light sources that emit peak spectral outputs into the UV-a spectrum at longer wavelengths such as 395nm, 400nm, or 405 nm. These longer wavelengths tend to reduce the extent to which the outermost surface of the (usually) secondary coating is cured. US20180163075 assigned to DSM IP assests b.v. describes a secondary coating composition that can alleviate this problem, but as the industry moves to higher production lines and coating speeds, further improvements (which can be combined with) are still welcome.

A second challenge introduced by LED-based light sources is often within the monochromatic nature of the light source itself. LED light sources tend to emit radiation with a narrower wavelength distribution than broadband mercury lamps used in conventional fiber coating processes. This has the effect of reducing the curing uniformity across the depth of the coating, since relatively small amounts of light of different wavelengths will penetrate the coating and polymerize at different depths. A colored coating or ink can exacerbate this effect because the pigment absorbs additional light, thereby preventing more light from reaching the surface of the innermost or lowest layer. The shielding effect of the pigments is therefore particularly pronounced in optical fiber coating processes using colored secondary coatings or inks that are cured by a predominantly monochromatic LED light source operating at higher wavelengths. Of course, even transparent (unpigmented) secondary coating systems may exhibit poor bottom cure levels, especially if they are incorporated into high speed fiber coating processes, given the monochromaticity of the LED light source.

As mentioned above, another industry trend is the continuous increase in global demand for optical fibers. To meet this growing demand and also to provide productivity advantages in such competitive industries, it would be beneficial, among other things, to increase the speed of optical fiber formation, coating and curing. Current coating and processing techniques have enabled most fiber producers to comfortably operate drawing towers at line speeds of at least 1000m/min, with speeds as high as 1500m/min and even 2500m/min and higher being possible.

However, as the fiber draw speed increases, several technical challenges are introduced into the process, thereby increasing the difficulty in producing a properly coated optical fiber. Of particular note, is the reduced ability of the ultraviolet light source to apply a sufficient dose of radiation to fully cure the primary and secondary coating compositions due to the reduced relative cure exposure time. This results in a reduced degree of cure of the composition under otherwise identical conditions. Still other challenges include bubble entrapment, coating delamination, and microbending-induced attenuation increase.

Many of these challenges are induced or exacerbated by undesirable temperature differences between the as-drawn glass fibers and the primary coating composition in contact therewith. At higher draw speeds, the fibers may enter the primary coating die at temperatures that may significantly exceed 50 ℃. The local temperature during high speed stretching may even reach 150 ℃. All other things being equal, as the fiber draw speed increases, the previously melted glass fibers have less time to equilibrate to the ambient temperature at which the primary coating composition is applied. Insufficiently cooled glass fibers will induce a concomitant temperature increase in the primary coating during application, which may continue to the downstream curing step. This phenomenon will adversely affect coating compositions (particularly primary coating compositions) that have insufficient heat resistance, thus leading to a deterioration in the physical properties-even commercial viability-of the coated optical fibers produced therefrom.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide an optical fiber coating, particularly a primary or secondary coating, and a method of coating an optical fiber incorporating a primary or secondary coating that promotes excellent curing when used in an optical fiber coating process utilizing an LED light source. Alternatively or additionally, it would be useful to provide optical fiber primary or secondary coatings that exhibit excellent processability at higher speeds and/or temperatures. Alternatively, it would be helpful to provide optical fiber coatings that cure quickly enough at higher speeds while maintaining or exceeding the industry-demanded existing coating performance standards.

Disclosure of Invention

Several embodiments of the present invention are described herein. A first aspect is a radiation curable composition for coating an optical fiber comprising a urethane acrylate oligomer that is the reaction product of an isocyanate, a polyol, and a (meth) acrylate monomer; a reactive diluent monomer; optionally, one or more additives; and Norrish type I photoinitiators; wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator satisfies one or both of the following conditions: (a) ionization potentials of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.1eV to 3.88eV or 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or 3.1eV to 3.86eV, or 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or 3.2eV to 3.75eV are used to excite triplet states, wherein the ionization potentials are based on the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) in combination with Koopman's Thereme (Kupman's Theorem, IP ═ ε_HOMO) Calculating; (b) a normalized polymerization rate at 150 degrees Celsius (C.) of greater than 0.5 and up to 1.0, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7, or 0.35 to 0.9, or 0.35 to 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of a Norrish type I photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of an ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by the RT-FTIR method using crystals having a 60 micron film and 20mW/cm ATR²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb.

According to another embodiment of the first aspect, the optical fiber coating composition is substantially free of pigments and/or acylphosphine oxide photoinitiators. In an embodiment according to the first aspect, the coating is a primary coating composition, a clear secondary coating composition or a tinted secondary coating composition.

In yet another embodiment of the first aspect, the composition has the respective various compositional components in the specified types and weight amounts, and the Norrish type I photoinitiator has further structural limitations including alkyl, aryl, or acyl substituted compounds wherein the alkyl, aryl, or acyl substituted compounds also have an atom selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, tin, and lead.

A second aspect is a method for producing a coated optical fiber, the method comprising the steps of: drawing a glass optical fiber by a drawing tower; applying a primary coating composition to a surface of a glass optical fiber; optionally, applying a dose of UV light to at least partially cure the primary coating composition; applying a secondary coating composition to the primary coating composition; exposing the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to at least one radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation to effect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to form a cured primary coating on the surface of the optical fiber, and a cured secondary coating on the surface of the cured primary coating; wherein at least one of the primary coating composition or the secondary coating composition comprises a reactive oligomer comprising an average of at least one polymerizable group; a monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group; and a photoinitiator; wherein the selected photoinitiator satisfies one or both of the following conditions: (i) a normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ of greater than 0.5, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7, or between 0.35 and 0.9, or between 0.35 and 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150 ℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25 ℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of photoinitiating agentAgent and 99 parts by weight of ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate was determined by the RT-FTIR method using ATR crystals with a film of 60 μm and an irradiance of 20mW/cm²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb; (ii) ionization potential of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.1eV to 3.88eV, or 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or 3.1eV to 3.86eV or 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or 3.2eV to 3.75eV, wherein the ionization potential excites triplet states according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) Coumann's theorem (IP ═ ε)_HOMO) And (4) calculating.

In yet another embodiment according to the second aspect, the coating process utilizes a radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation to affect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition, wherein the radiation source comprises one or more LEDs, wherein the one or more LEDs emit actinic radiation with a peak spectral output of 375nm to 450nm, or 375nm to 410nm, or 380nm to 405nm, or 390nm to 400 nm.

A third aspect is a coated optical fiber formed by any of the methods according to the second aspect and using any of the compositions of the first aspect, wherein the coated optical fiber has a mode field diameter of 8-10 μm at a wavelength of 1310nm, or 9-13 μm at a wavelength of 1550nm, and/or 20 to 200 μm²The effective area of (a).

A fourth aspect of the present invention is an optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of coated optical fibers disposed within at least a portion of the cable, wherein at least one of the plurality of coated optical fibers comprises a primary coating and/or a secondary coating that is the cured product of a radiation curable composition comprising a photoinitiator according to any of the embodiments of the first aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a graph of normalized maximum polymerization rate versus temperature for a primary coating composition incorporating three different photoinitiators

Fig. 2 depicts a graphical representation of the data shown in table 3B comparing the relative curing performance of various clear secondary coating compositions at different curing wavelengths, temperatures, and film positions.

Fig. 3 depicts a graphical representation of the data shown in table 3C comparing the relative curing performance of various colored secondary coating compositions at different curing wavelengths, temperatures, and film positions.

Fig. 4 shows the dimensions and geometry of the custom lamp holder used in the LED-DSC method described in the experiments herein.

Detailed Description

A first aspect of the present invention is a radiation curable composition for coating an optical fiber comprising

A urethane acrylate oligomer that is the reaction product of an isocyanate, a polyol, and a (meth) acrylate monomer;

a reactive diluent monomer;

optionally, one or more additives; and

norrish type I photoinitiator; wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator has:

(a) ionization potential of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.1eV to 3.88eV or 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or 3.1eV to 3.86eV, or 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or 3.2eV to 3.75eV, wherein the ionization potential excites triplet states according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) Coumann's theorem (IP ═ ε)_HOMO) Calculating; and/or

(b) A normalized polymerization rate at 150 degrees Celsius (C.) of greater than 0.5 and up to 1.0, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7, or 0.35 to 0.9, or 0.35 to 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of a Norrish type I photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of an ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by the RT-FTIR method using crystals having a 60 micron film and 20mW/cm ATR²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb.

The compositions for coating optical fibers according to the first aspect are radiation curable, i.e. they respond to exposure to actinic radiation of a certain type (i.e. wavelength or wavelengths) and quantity (i.e. energy dose) by polymerization. Such coating compositions typically have a urethane acrylate oligomer and a reactive diluent monomer. Preferably, both the urethane acrylate oligomer and the reactive diluent monomer comprise ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable compounds, i.e., compounds that may comprise one or more than one olefinic double bond. The coating compositions described herein also have a photoinitiator, preferably a Norrish type I free radical photoinitiator. Further optionally including one or more additives. Each of the above-described constituents is described in further detail below. Such components as described hereinafter may be used in the radiation curable composition according to any aspect of the present invention, including the coating composition according to the first aspect and the composition used in the method according to the second aspect. Furthermore, the cured product of the composition described below may be further used in any embodiment of the coated optical fiber according to any embodiment of the third aspect and the optical cable according to the fourth aspect.

Suitable compositions for the primary coating include, but are not limited to, urethane acrylate oligomers in an amount of 30 to 90 weight percent; and a reactive diluent monomer present in an amount of from 5 wt% to 60 wt%; an additive present in an amount of 0 wt% to 40 wt%; and a Norrish type I photoinitiator present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%. The primary coating composition typically also comprises a glass adhesion promoter. Such components may be included as additives or the adhesion promoting moieties may be reacted into the urethane acrylate oligomer or the diluent monomer. The primary coating is also preferably pigment-free.

Suitable compositions for the secondary coating include, but are not limited to, three separate ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable compounds: first, about 10 to 85 weight percent of one or more urethane acrylate oligomers; a second, about 10 to about 75 weight percent of one or more multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomers; third, from about 0 to about 10 weight percent of one or more monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomers. Such suitable compositions also comprise from about.01 to about 5 weight percent of one or more photoinitiators. Further, such suitable compositions may comprise one or more additives, including, but not limited to, from about 0 to about 5pph of one or more slip agents and from about 0.5 to about 1.5pph of one or more antioxidants.

The ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable compound may contain one or more than one olefinic double bond. They may be low molecular weight (monomeric) or high molecular weight (oligomeric) compounds. An oligomer is a molecule of intermediate relative molecular mass, the structure of which comprises a plurality of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of lower relative molecular mass. As used herein, an "oligomer" has a number average molecular weight (Mn) of 600g/mol to 20,000g/mol as measured by Gas Permeation Chromatography (GPC) with polystyrene standards in tetrahydrofuran.

Urethane acrylate oligomer

Typically, the optical fiber coating material comprises a urethane acrylate oligomer containing an acrylate group, a urethane group, and a main chain as an oligomer. The backbone is derived from a polyol reactive with an isocyanate (such as a diisocyanate, polyisocyanate) and a hydroxyalkyl acrylate.

As used herein, a polyol is a compound containing two or more hydroxyl groups. Examples of suitable polyols are polyether polyols, polyester polyols, polycarbonate polyols, polycaprolactone polyols, acrylic polyols and other polyols. These polyols may be used alone or in a combination of two or more. In a preferred embodiment, the backbone of the urethane acrylate oligomer comprises a compound derived from polypropylene glycol (PPG). As used herein, a compound derived from polypropylene glycol includes capped PPG, e.g., EO-capped PPG. The polymerization mode of the structural units in these polyols is not particularly limited. Each of random polymerization, block polymerization, or graft polymerization is acceptable.

As used herein, a block copolymer refers to an oligomer or a portion of a polymer comprising a plurality of structural units, wherein at least one structural unit comprises a feature that is not present in an adjacent portion. As used herein, mono-, di-, and tri-block copolymers refer to the average amount of a particular block present in an oligomer. In a preferred embodiment, the specified blocks refer to polyether blocks derived from one or more of the polyols, preferably polyether polyols, as described elsewhere herein. In one embodiment, the blocks referred to as mono-, di-, and/or tri-block copolymers are polyether blocks derived from one or more of the polyols described elsewhere herein. In one embodiment, a mono-block copolymer may be described as a copolymer having a specific block (e.g., polyether block) of only about 1, or about 0.9 to less than 1.5 units on average. In one embodiment, diblock copolymers may be described as copolymers having a specific block (e.g., polyether block) averaging about 2, or at least 1.5 to less than 2.5 units. In one embodiment, triblock copolymers can be described as copolymers having a specific block (e.g., polyether block) averaging about 3, or at least 2.5 to less than 3.5 units. The number of polyether units in a given oligomer may be determined by the number of polyether polyol molecules utilized in the synthesis of the individual oligomer.

Given as examples of polyether polyols are polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol-ethylene glycol copolymer, polytetramethylene glycol, polyhexamethylene glycol, polyheptamethylene glycol, polydecamethylene glycol, and polyether glycols obtained by ring-opening copolymerization of two or more ionic polymerizable cyclic compounds. Here, given as examples of the ionic polymerizable cyclic compound are cyclic ethers such as ethylene oxide, isobutylene oxide, tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, 3-methyltetrahydrofuran, dioxane, trioxane, tetraoxane, cyclohexene oxide, styrene oxide, epichlorohydrin, isoprene monooxide, vinyloxetane, vinyltetrahydrofuran, vinylcyclohexene oxide, phenyl glycidyl ether, butyl glycidyl ether, and glycidyl benzoate. Specific examples of combinations of two or more ionically polymerizable cyclic compounds include combinations for producing binary copolymers, such as tetrahydrofuran and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, tetrahydrofuran and 3-methyltetrahydrofuran, and tetrahydrofuran and ethylene oxide; and combinations for producing terpolymers, such as tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, and ethylene oxide, tetrahydrofuran, 1-butylene oxide (1-oxide), and ethylene oxide, and the like. The ring-opening copolymer of these ionic polymerizable cyclic compounds may be a random copolymer or a block copolymer.

Included among these polyether polyols are products commercially available under the following trademarks, for example: PTMG1000, PTMG2000 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical corp., ltd.), PEG #1000 (manufactured by Nippon Oil and falls co., ltd.), PTG650(SN), PTG1000(SN), PTG2000(SN), PTG3000, PTGL1000, PTGL2000 (manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical co., ltd.), PEG400, PEG600, PEG1000, PEG1500, PEG2000, PEG4000, PEG6000 (manufactured by Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku co., ltd.), and Pluronics (manufactured by BASF).

Polyester diols obtained by reacting a polyol with a polybasic acid are given as examples of the polyol. As examples of the polyhydric alcohol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, tetramethylene glycol, polytetramethylene glycol, 1, 6-hexanediol, 3-methyl-1, 5-pentanediol, 1, 9-nonanediol, 2-methyl-1, 8-octanediol, and the like can be given. As examples of the polybasic acid, phthalic acid, dimer acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, and the like can be given.

These polyester polyol compounds are commercially available under such trademarks as: MPD/IPA500, MPD/IPA1000, MPD/IPA2000, MPD/TPA500, MPD/TPA1000, MPD/TPA2000, Kurapol A-1010, A-2010, PNA-2000, PNOA-1010, and PNOA-2010 (manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.).

As examples of the polycarbonate polyol, polycarbonate of polytetrahydrofuran, poly (hexanediol carbonate), poly (nonanediol carbonate), poly (3-methyl-1, 5-pentamethylene carbonate), and the like can be given.

As commercially available products of these polycarbonate polyols, DN-980, DN-981 (manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd.), Priplast 3196, 3190, 2033 (manufactured by Unichema), PNOC-2000, PNOC-1000 (manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.), PLACCEL CD220, CD210, CD208, CD205 (manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.), PC-THF-CD (manufactured by BASF), and the like can be given.

The polycaprolactone diol obtained by reacting epsilon-caprolactone with a diol compound is given as an example of a polycaprolactone polyol having a melting point of 0 deg.C or higher. Here, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, tetramethylene glycol, polytetramethylene glycol, 1, 2-polytetramethylene glycol, 1, 6-hexanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1, 4-butanediol, and the like are given as examples of the diol compound.

Commercially available products of these polycaprolactone polyols include PLACCEL 240, 230ST, 220ST, 220NP1, 212, 210, 220N, 210N, L230AL, L220AL, L220PL, L220PM, L212AL (both manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.), Rauccarb 107 (manufactured by Enichem), and the like.

As examples of the other polyhydric alcohol, ethylene glycol, 1, 4-butanediol, 1, 5-pentanediol, 1, 6-hexanediol, polyoxyethylene bisphenol A ether, polyoxypropylene bisphenol A ether, polyoxyethylene bisphenol F ether, polyoxypropylene bisphenol F ether, and the like can be given.

As these other polyols, those having an alkylene oxide structure in the molecule, particularly polyether polyols, are preferable. In one embodiment, polyols containing polytetramethylene glycol and copolymer glycols of butylene oxide and ethylene oxide are particularly preferred.

The number average molecular weight, as derived from the hydroxyl number of these polyols, is generally from about 50 to about 15,000, and preferably from about 1,000 to about 5,000. As used herein, unless otherwise specified, molecular weight refers to the number average molecular weight specified in units of grams per mole (g/mol).

As examples of the polyisocyanate used for the oligomer, 2, 4-tolylene diisocyanate, 2, 6-tolylene diisocyanate, 1, 3-xylylene diisocyanate, 1, 4-xylylene diisocyanate, 1, 5-naphthalene diisocyanate, m-phenylene diisocyanate, p-phenylene diisocyanate, 3 '-dimethyl-4, 4' -diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 3 '-dimethylphenylene diisocyanate, 4' -biphenylene diisocyanate, 1, 6-hexane diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, methylene bis (4-cyclohexyl isocyanate), 2, 4-trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate, bis (2-isocyanatoethyl) fumarate, 6-isopropyl-1, 3-phenyl diisocyanate, 4-diphenylpropane diisocyanate, hydrogenated diphenylmethane diisocyanate, hydrogenated xylylene diisocyanate, tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate, lysine isocyanate, and the like. These polyisocyanate compounds may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Preferred polyisocyanates are isophorone diisocyanate, 2, 4-trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate, 2, 4-toluene diisocyanate and 2, 6-toluene diisocyanate.

Examples of the hydroxyl group-containing (meth) acrylate used in the oligomer include (meth) acrylates derived from (meth) acrylic acid and epoxy, and (meth) acrylates containing alkylene oxide, more specifically 2-hydroxyethyl (meth) acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, and 2-hydroxy-3-oxyphenyl (meth) acrylate. Acrylate functionality is preferred over methacrylate.

The ratio of the polyol, the polyisocyanate and the hydroxyl group-containing (meth) acrylate used for preparing the urethane (meth) acrylate is determined such that about 1.1 to about 3 equivalents of the isocyanate group contained in the polyisocyanate and about 0.1 to about 1.5 equivalents of the hydroxyl group contained in the hydroxyl group-containing (meth) acrylate are used with respect to 1 equivalent of the hydroxyl group contained in the polyol.

In the reaction of these three components, a carbamation catalyst such as copper naphthenate, cobalt naphthenate, zinc naphthenate, di-n-butyltin dilaurate, triethylamine, and triethylenediamine-2-methyltriethyleneamine is often used in amounts of about 0.01 to about 1 weight percent of the total reactants. The reaction is carried out at a temperature of from about 10 ℃ to about 90 ℃, preferably from about 30 ℃ to about 80 ℃.

The number average molecular weight (Mn) of the urethane (meth) acrylate used in the composition of the present invention is preferably in the range of about 600 to about 10,000, more preferably about 600 to about 5,000. If the number average molecular weight of the urethane (meth) acrylate is less than about 100, the resin composition tends to be cured; on the other hand, if the number average molecular weight is more than about 20,000, the viscosity of the composition becomes high, thereby making handling of the composition difficult. Preferred for the secondary coating are oligomers having a number average molecular weight between about 1,000 and 3,000.

Other oligomers that may be used include polyester (meth) acrylates, epoxy (meth) acrylates, polyamide (meth) acrylates, siloxane polymers having (meth) acryloxy groups, reactive polymers obtained by reacting copolymers of (meth) acrylic acid and glycidyl methacrylate and other polymerizable monomers, and the like. Particularly preferred are acrylate oligomers based on bisphenol a, such as alkoxylated bisphenol-a-diacrylate and diglycidyl-bisphenol-a-diacrylate.

In addition to the above components, other curable oligomers or polymers may be added to the liquid curable resin composition of the present invention to such an extent that the properties of the liquid curable resin composition are not adversely affected.

Preferred oligomers are polyether based acrylate oligomers, polycarbonate acrylate oligomers, polyester acrylate oligomers, alkyd acrylate oligomers and acrylated acrylic oligomers. More preferred are urethane-containing oligomers thereof. Even more preferred are polyether urethane acrylate oligomers and urethane acrylate oligomers using blends of the above polyols, and particularly preferred are aliphatic polyether urethane acrylate oligomers. The term "aliphatic" refers to the full aliphatic polyisocyanates used.

Other suitable polyols are polymers and copolymers containing hydroxyl groups in the polymer chain or in side groups, for example polyvinyl alcohol and copolymers thereof or hydroxyalkyl polymethacrylates or copolymers thereof. Other suitable polyols are oligoesters with hydroxyl end groups. Illustrative of aliphatic and cycloaliphatic polyols are alkylene glycols having, for example, from 2 to 12 carbon atoms, including ethylene glycol, 1, 2-or 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 2-butanediol, 1, 3-or 1, 4-butanediol, pentanediol, hexanediol, octanediol, dodecanediol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycols having a molecular weight of, for example, from 200 to 1500, 1, 3-cyclopentanediol, 1, 2-cyclohexanediol, 1, 3-or 1, 4-cyclohexanediol, 1, 4-dimethylolcyclohexane, glycerol, tris (hydroxyethyl) amine, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol and sorbitol. The polyols may be partially or fully esterified with one or more unsaturated carboxylic acids, in which case the free hydroxyl groups of the partial esters may be modified, for example etherified or esterified with other carboxylic acids. Illustrative examples of esters are: trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolethane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trimethylolethane trimethacrylate, tetramethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol diacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol diacrylate, dipentaerythritol triacrylate, dipentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate, tripentaerythritol octaacrylate, pentaerythritol dimethacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, dipentaerythritol dimethacrylate, dipentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, tripentaerythritol octamethacrylate, pentaerythritol diitaconate, Dipentaerythritol tri-itaconate, dipentaerythritol pentaitaconate, dipentaerythritol hexaitaconate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-butanediol dimethacrylate, 1, 4-butanediol diitaconate, sorbitol triacrylate, sorbitol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritol-modified triacrylate, sorbitol tetramethacrylate, sorbitol pentaacrylate, sorbitol hexaacrylate, oligoester acrylates and methacrylates, glycerol diacrylate and triacrylate, 1, 4-cyclohexane diacrylate, diacrylates and dimethacrylates of polyethylene glycols having a molecular weight of from 200 to 1500, or mixtures thereof. Polyfunctional monomers and oligomers are available from, for example, UCB Chemicals of Smyrna, Georgia and Sartomer of Exton, Pennsylvania.

One or more of the above-described urethane acrylate oligomers may be used in the composition according to the present invention in any suitable amount, and may be selected individually or in combinations of one or more of the types listed herein. In a preferred embodiment, the urethane acrylate component is present in an amount of 10 to 85 wt.%, or 10 to 80 wt.%, or 10 to 60 wt.%, or 15 to 50 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the composition.

Reactive diluent monomers

The composition according to the invention may also comprise one or more reactive diluent monomers. As used herein, "diluent" refers to a substance that reduces the viscosity of a larger composition to which it is added or associated. Various diluents are used to maximize the flow of the optical fiber coating composition associated therewith, and thus, the processability.

In order to maximize the curability of the composition with which it is associated, the diluent component preferably comprises, consists of or consists essentially of a reactive diluent. As used herein, "reactive" refers to the ability to form a chemical reaction, preferably a polymerization reaction, with another molecule. Thus, it can be said that the reactive compound has at least one reactive group or functional group. Such reactive or functional groups are preferably polymerizable groups.

Furthermore, as used herein, a monomer is a molecule of low relative molecular mass, the structure of which can undergo polymerization, thereby contributing building blocks to the basic structure of the macromolecule. As used herein, a component is considered a monomer if it also has a number average molecular weight (Mn) of less than about 1000 g/mol. In one embodiment, the reactive diluent component consists of one or more reactive diluent monomers having a Mn of about 86g/mol (molar mass of methyl acrylate) to 800 g/mol or 100g/mol to 350g/mol, as measured by NMR methods.

The reactive diluent monomer according to the present invention may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of a reactive diluent monomer having at least one polymerizable group. In a preferred embodiment, the reactive diluent monomer consists of a reactive diluent monomer having an average of one polymerizable group. The polymerizable groups of the reactive diluent monomer are preferably capable of (co) polymerizing with the polymerizable groups present in the relevant reactive oligomer component. Such monomers are referred to as "monofunctional".

The polymerizable group of the reactive diluent monomer may be of any known type. However, in one embodiment, the polymerizable group can comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of an acrylate, acrylamide, or N-vinylamide group, or any combination thereof. The reactive diluent is preferably an ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable compound containing at least one reactive olefinic double bond.

The polymerizable group may be present at any feasible point along the length of the reactive diluent monomer. However, in a preferred embodiment, the polymerizable group comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of a polymerizable end group.

Typical examples of reactive diluent monomers containing one double bond are alkyl or hydroxyalkyl acrylates, such as methyl, ethyl, butyl, 2-phenoxyethyl, 2-ethylhexyl and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, isobornyl, methyl and ethyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate and diethylene glycol ethylhexyl acrylate (DEGEHA). Other examples of such monomers are acrylonitrile, acrylamide, N-substituted acrylamides, vinyl esters (e.g., vinyl acetate), styrene, alkylstyrenes, halostyrenes, N-vinyl pyrrolidone, N-vinyl caprolactam, vinyl chloride, and vinylidene chloride. Such compounds are monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomers.

The reactive diluent monomer may include a multifunctional component; i.e. having more than one reactive group. Examples of such include monomers containing more than one double bond such as, but not limited to, ethylene glycol diacrylate, propylene glycol diacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, hexamethylene glycol diacrylate, bisphenol A diacrylate, 4' -bis (2-acryloyloxyethoxy) diphenylpropane, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate and tetraacrylate, and vinyl acrylate. Such compounds are multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomers.

One or more of the above monofunctional and/or multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomers can be used in the compositions according to the present invention in any suitable amount, and can be selected individually or in combination with one or more of the types listed herein.

In one embodiment, the monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomer is present in an amount of from 0 to 20 wt.%, or from 0 to 10 wt.%, or from 1 to 20 wt.%, or from 1 to 10 wt.%, or from 2 to 20 wt.%, or from 2 to 10 wt.%, relative to the weight of the entire composition.

In another embodiment, the multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated monomer is present in an amount of from 10 to 75 weight percent, or from 10 to 65 weight percent, or from 10 to 60 weight percent, or from 10 to 50 weight percent, or from 15 to 70 weight percent, or from 15 to 60 weight percent, or from 20 to 60 weight percent, relative to the total weight of the composition.

Photoinitiator

The composition of the present invention also comprises a photoinitiator. In a preferred embodiment, the photoinitiator is a free radical photoinitiator. The photoinitiator is a compound that chemically changes to generate at least one of a radical, an acid, and a base due to the action of light or a synergistic action between the action of light and the electronic excitation of the sensitizing dye. In a preferred embodiment, the photoinitiator is a free radical photoinitiator, which is capable of initiating or promoting initiation of a polymerization reaction between the urethane acrylate oligomer and/or the reactive diluent monomer.

Generally, free radical photoinitiators or photoinitiating systems fall into 2 main categories. The first class includes those photoinitiators which form free radicals by cleavage (typically the alpha bond of a carbonyl compound) upon exposure to sufficient radiation, which are referred to as "alpha-cleavage photoinitiators" or "Norrish type I" photoinitiators. The second class or "Norrish type II" photoinitiators include those which form free radicals by a hydrogen abstraction process upon exposure to sufficient radiation. In principle, the hydrogen abstraction process can be either intramolecular or intermolecular. In the case where the process involves intermolecular abstraction, i.e., where an external hydrogen donor is used for initiation, the photoinitiator is not a single compound but a bimolecular system.

Since initiation is generally based on bimolecular reactions, Norrish type II photoinitiators are generally slower than free radical based unimolecular formation Norrish type I photoinitiators. On the other hand, Norrish type II photoinitiators are generally considered to have better light absorption properties in the near ultraviolet spectral region. However, the inventors hypothesize that type II photoinitiators are less preferred for use in the compositions according to the invention, since they are believed to be less effective at initiating polymerization at elevated temperatures.

Aromatic ketones (e.g., benzophenones, thioxanthones, benzils, and quinones) photolyze in the presence of a hydrogen donor (e.g., an alcohol, amine, or thiol) resulting in the formation of a radical (keto-type radical) generated from the carbonyl compound and another radical derived from the hydrogen donor. Photopolymerization of vinyl monomers is typically initiated by radicals generated from hydrogen donors. The keto radical is generally unreactive with the vinyl monomer due to steric hindrance and delocalization of unpaired electrons.

According to one embodiment, the composition comprises at least one free radical photoinitiator selected from the group consisting of: benzoylphosphine oxides, aryl ketones, benzophenones, hydroxylated ketones, 1-hydroxyphenyl ketones, ketals, metallocenes, and any combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the composition comprises at least one free radical photoinitiator selected from the group consisting of: 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphine oxide, 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoylphenylethoxyphosphine oxide, bis (2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phenylphosphine oxide, 2-methyl-1- [4- (methylthio) phenyl ] -2-morpholinopropanone-1, 2-benzyl-2- (dimethylamino) -1- [4- (4-morpholinyl) phenyl ] -1-butanone, 2-dimethylamino-2- (4-methyl-benzyl) -1- (4-morpholin-4-yl-phenyl) -butan-1-one, 4-benzoyl-4' -methyldiphenylsulfide, N-acetylsalicylic acid, N-methyl-1-, 4,4 '-bis (diethylamino) benzophenone and 4,4' -bis (N, N '-dimethylamino) benzophenone (Mild ketone), benzophenone, 4-methylbenzophenone, 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzophenone, dimethoxybenzophenone, l-hydroxycyclohexylphenylketone, phenyl (1-hydroxyisopropyl) ketone, 2-hydroxy-1- [4- (2-hydroxyethoxy) phenyl ] -2-methyl-1-propanone, 4-isopropylphenyl (1-hydroxyisopropyl) ketone, oligo- [ 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1- [4- (1-methylvinyl) phenyl ] propanone, camphorquinone, 4' -bis (diethylamino) benzophenone, camphor-, and water-soluble compounds thereof, Benzil dimethyl ketal, bis (. eta.5-2-4-cyclopentadien-1-yl) bis [2, 6-difluoro-3- (1H-pyrrol-1-yl) phenyl ] titanium, and any combination thereof.

Examples of suitable photoinitiators that absorb in this region for light sources emitting in the 300-475nm wavelength range, in particular those emitting at 365nm, 390nm or 395nm, include: benzoylphosphine oxides, such as 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphine oxide (Lucirin TPO from BASF) and 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoylphenylethoxyphosphine oxide (Lucirin TPO-L from BASF), bis (2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phenylphosphine oxide (Omnirad 819 or BAPO from IGM), 2-methyl-1- [4- (methylthio) phenyl ] -2-morpholinopropanone-1 (Omnirad 907 from IGM), 2-benzyl-2- (dimethylamino) -1- [4- (4-morpholino) phenyl ] -1-butanone (Omnirad 369 from IGM), 2-dimethylamino-2- (4-methyl-benzyl) -1- (4-morpholin-4-yl-phenyl) - Butan-1-one (Omnirad 379 from IGM), 4-benzoyl-4 '-methyl diphenyl sulfide (Chivacure BMS from Chitec), 4' -bis (diethylamino) benzophenone (Chivacure EMK from Chitec) and 4,4 '-bis (N, N' -dimethylamino) benzophenone (mikreon). Mixtures thereof are also suitable. These acylphosphine oxide photoinitiators are preferred because they have good phosphonoradical delocalization upon photo-irradiation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the radical photoinitiator is a Norrish type I variant. In addition to those already named, Norrish type I photoinitiators include, inter alia, acylphosphine oxide photoinitiators and certain alkyl-or aryl-or acyl-substituted compounds having or being centered on an atom in the carbon group (group 14), such as carbon, silicon, germanium, tin and lead.

A well-known free radical photoinitiator for use in optical fiber coating applications is an acylphosphine oxide photoinitiator. Acylphosphine oxide photoinitiators are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. nos.4,324,744, 4,737,593, 5,942,290, 5,534,559, 6,020,528, 6,486,228, and 6,486,226.

The acylphosphine oxide photoinitiator is a bisacylphosphine oxide (BAPO) or a monoacylphosphine oxide (MAPO).

The bisacylphosphine oxide photoinitiator has the formula:

wherein R is₅₀Is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 4 halogen or C₁-C₈Alkyl-substituted phenyl, C₁-C₁₂Alkyl or cyclohexyl; r₅₁And R₅₂Each independently of the other being C₁-C₈Alkyl or C₁-C₈An alkoxy group; r₅₃Is hydrogen or C₁-C₈An alkyl group; and R is₅₄Is hydrogen or methyl.

For example, R₅₀Is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 to 4C₁-C₄Phenyl substituted by alkyl, Cl or Br, C₂-C₁₀Alkyl, or cyclohexyl. Another embodiment is where R is₅₀Is unsubstituted or substituted in position 2, 3,4 or 2,5 by C₁-C₄Alkyl-substituted phenyl, C₃-C₈Alkyl or cyclohexyl. For example, R₅₀Is C₄-C₁₂Alkyl or cyclohexyl radical, R₅₁And R₅₂Each independently of the other being C₁-C₈Alkyl or C₁-C₈Alkoxy, and R₅₃Is hydrogen or C₁-C₈An alkyl group. For example, R₅₁And R₅₂Is C₁-C₄Alkyl or C₁-C₄Alkoxy, and R₅₃Is hydrogen or C₁-C₄An alkyl group. Another embodiment is where R is₅₁And R₅₂Is methyl or methoxy and R₅₃Embodiments are hydrogen or methyl. For example, R₅₁、R₅₂And R₅₃Is methyl. Another embodiment is where R is₅₁、R₅₂And R₅₃Is methyl and R₅₄An embodiment of hydrogen. Another embodiment is where R is₅₀Is C₃-C₈Embodiments of alkyl groups. For example, R₅₁And R₅₂Is methoxy, R₅₃And R₅₄Is hydrogen, and R₅₀Is isooctyl. For example, R₅₀Is an isobutyl group. For example, R₅₀Is phenyl. The bisacylphosphine oxide photoinitiator of the present invention is, for example, bis (2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phenylphosphine oxide (CAS No. 162881-26-7) or bis (2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) - (2, 4-bis-pentyloxyphenyl) phosphine oxide.

The monoacylphosphine oxide photoinitiator has the formula:

wherein R is₁And R₂Independently of one another, are unsubstituted or substituted by halogen, C₁-C₈Alkyl and/or C₁-C₈Phenyl, benzyl or C substituted 1 to 4 times by alkoxy₁-C₁₂Alkyl, or is cyclohexyl or the radical-COR₃Or R is₁is-OR₄；R₃Is unsubstituted or substituted by C₁-C₈Alkyl radical, C₁-C₈Alkoxy radical, C₁-C₈Phenyl substituted 1 to 4 times with alkylthio and/or halogen; and R is₄Is C₁-C₈Alkyl, phenyl or benzyl. For example, R₁is-OR₄. For example, R₂Is unsubstituted or substituted by halogen, C₁-C₈Alkyl and/or C₁-C₈Alkoxy is substituted 1 to 4 times phenyl. For example, R₃Is unsubstituted or substituted by C₁-C₈Phenyl substituted 1-4 times by alkyl. For example, the monoacylphosphine oxide of the invention is 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoylethoxyphenylphosphine oxide or 2,4, 6-trimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphine oxide.

The inventors have now surprisingly found that certain types of photoinitiators, in particular certain Norrish type I photoinitiators, promote a higher degree of curing in their associated optical fiber coating compositions than other conventionally used variants. This is especially true under at least two different application-specific conditions. First, it has now been found that such photoinitiators can improve the surface cure and/or through cure (through-cure) of transparent or pigmented optical fiber secondary coatings when the coatings are subjected to an optical fiber coating process incorporating an LED-based light source, particularly where the LED light source emits a peak spectral output from 375 nanometers (nm) to 450nm, or from 375nm to 410nm, or from 380nm to 405nm, or from 390nm to 400 nm. This is surprising even though such photoinitiators may have reduced absorption efficiency relative to other existing photoinitiators at the wavelengths at which such LED light sources emit peak irradiance.

Second, such photoinitiators impart improved initiation efficiency when subjected to high temperatures. This finding is particularly important in the field of optical fiber coatings because, with increasing line speeds, the additional thermal stresses inherent in radiation curable coatings and the associated photoinitiators used therein have a greater impact on the curing properties than previously thought.

It is well known that as line speed increases, all other things being equal, the amount of actinic energy imparted to any fixed portion of the liquid radiation curable composition used to coat the optical fiber decreases. Even assuming a static photoinitiation efficiency, this naturally reduces the spatial and temporal window in which the photoinitiator in the radiation curable composition used to coat the optical fiber is dispensed to initiate polymerization sufficient to form a cured coating with commercially acceptable properties. It is expected that such problems caused by high speed stretching applications will be offset by an increase in the intensity of the radiation source, an increase in the concentration of the photoinitiator, or an increase in the path the radiation source is placed (and an increase in the number of radiation sources themselves).

However, the inventors believe that this remedy will not adequately counteract the reduction in energy dose due to higher line speeds if a suitable photoinitiator is not selected. This is because the associated temperature increase results in a significant decrease in the efficiency of the photoinitiators used in existing optical fiber coating compositions. Thus, as the line speed and thus temperature increases above a certain value, the inventors have surprisingly found that the ability of known coating compositions to form fully cured coatings on optical fibers decreases exponentially because of their lower photoinitiation efficiency per given unit of absorbed energy. Without wishing to be bound by any theory, the inventors believe that this is because the addition of photoinitiator radicals to the acrylate is an equilibrium reaction, and the equilibrium and thus the initiation efficiency varies with the increase in temperature at which the reaction occurs.

With this understanding, the inventors have found that certain types of photoinitiators, in particular the same Norrish type I free radical photoinitiators having certain characteristics described above that are conducive to LED curing, surprisingly show a significantly lower reduction in their initiation efficiency due to their temperature increase. The use of such photoinitiators has now been found to be advantageous for use in high speed and/or low helium optical fiber coating processes, since such processes are known to heat the coating compositions used, particularly the primary coating compositions, to levels that have not been experienced in conventional coating processes.

For use in adapting the fiber coating process at ever increasing line speeds, the photoinitiators selected must maintain high efficiency at temperatures as high as 150 ℃ or higher. Thus, in one embodiment, the photoinitiator must have a normalized polymerization rate greater than photoinitiators heretofore known for use in optical fiber coating compositions. As used herein, the normalized polymerization rate is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of a mixture at a specified temperature, expressed in degrees Celsius, divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25 degrees Celsius, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of the photoinitiator to be evaluated and 99 parts by weight of ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by the RT-FTIR method using ATR crystals with a 60 micron film and an irradiance of 20mW/cm²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb. Thus, in one embodiment, the photoinitiator used is at 150 deg.CThe normalized polymerization rate of (a) is greater than 0.5, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7. In one embodiment, the photoinitiator is selected to have a normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ of 0.35 to 0.9, or 0.35 to 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75.

In view of the above, the inventors further theorize that the oxidation potential of the triplet state of a photoinitiator is an important predictor in determining whether the photoinitiator is suitable for either of the following conditions: (1) promote sufficient initiation efficiency at higher temperatures (such as those high temperature conditions encountered during coating of optical fibers running at high line speeds); (2) promote satisfactory initiation and cure throughout the depth of the coating during exposure to UVA wavelength radiation relative to a monochromatic light source (e.g., LED); or both. This surprising discovery is helpful in being able to specify a radiation-curable primary or secondary coating composition that will adequately cure and process, especially in high-speed optical fiber coating processes that utilize a UV-LED radiation source.

Unfortunately, due to their small lifetime, it is practically impossible to directly determine the oxidation potential of these excited triplet states by cyclic voltammetry. However, the inventors have relied on an alternative method by deriving its ionization potential, i.e. the energy required to lose one of its electrons (X ═ energy → X)⁺+e^-) To quantify the oxidation potential of the component. The ionization potential has been obtained from quantum mechanical calculations using the method B3LYP/6-31g (d) in combination with the cooper theorem indicating that the ionization potential can be calculated as the negative of the orbital energy of the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) or expressed by the equation: IP ═ epsilon_HOMO. This method is further described in US9708442 assigned to DSM IP asset b.v.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the Norrish type I photoinitiator is selected to have a triplet ionization potential of from 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or from 3.1eV to 3.88eV, or from 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or from 3.1eV to 3.86eV, or from 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or from 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or from 3.2eV to 3.75 eV. As described in US9708442, bisacylphosphine oxide (BAPO) has a triplet ionization potential of 3.98; thus, in one embodiment, the coating composition is free of or comprises less than 0.1 wt% of a BAPO compound.

According to another embodiment, the Norrish type I photoinitiator is an alkyl, aryl or acyl substituted compound. In one embodiment, the alkyl, aryl or acyl substituted photoinitiator has or is centered on an atom in the carbon group (group 14). In this case, upon excitation (by absorption of radiation), the group 14 atoms present in the photoinitiator compound form radicals. Thus, such compounds may generate free radicals having or centered on an atom selected from carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, and lead. In one embodiment, the alkyl, aryl or acyl substituted photoinitiator is an acylgermanium compound. Such photoinitiators are described in US9708442 assigned to DSM IP assests b.v., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In one embodiment, the Norrish type I photoinitiator is a germanium-based compound having a structure according to the following formula (I):

wherein Ar is₁Is an aromatic radical which is unsubstituted or further substituted in any position by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, further aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals, and wherein R is₁、R₂And R₃Independently an acyl group, an aryl group, an alkyl group or a carbonyl group, which is unsubstituted or further substituted by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, additional aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups, or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals. Polymerizable compositions with acylgermanium compounds are described in US7605 assigned to Ivoclar Vivadent AG190 (f).

In one embodiment, R₁-R₃Each of which is an aryl-substituted group or an aromatic acyl group. In one embodiment, R₁-R₃Exactly two of which are aryl-substituted radicals or aromatic acyl radicals, the remaining substituted radicals being C₁-C₁₀Or C₁-C₆Or C₁-C₃An alkyl group. In one embodiment, R₁-R₃Wherein exactly one is an aryl-substituted group or an aromatic acyl group and the remaining two substituted groups are C₁-C₁₀Or C₁-C₆Or C₁-C₃An alkyl group. In another embodiment, R₁-R₃Each of which is C₁-C₁₀Or C₁-C₆Or C₁-C₃An alkyl group.

In one embodiment, the acylgermanium photoinitiator is a compound having one of the following molecular structures:

in one embodiment, the free radical photoinitiator is an acylgermanium compound. In one embodiment, the acylgermanium is Benzoyltrimethylgermane (BTG) or bisacylgermanyl (commercially available from Ivoclar Vivadent AG, 9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein))。

One or more of the above-described photoinitiators may be used in the compositions according to the invention in any suitable amount, and may be selected individually or used in combination in one or more of the types enumerated herein. Such improved Norrish type I photoinitiators may be included only, i.e., the radiation curable composition consists of only those Norrish type I photoinitiators described herein, or alternatively, such compositions may consist essentially of those Norrish type I photoinitiators described herein. In a preferred embodiment, the photoinitiator component is present in an amount of from about 0.001 wt% to about 10 wt%, or from 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%, or from about 0.01 wt% to about 5 wt%, or from about 0.1 wt% to about 3 wt%, relative to the total weight of the composition.

Additive agent

Additives are also commonly added to optical fiber coatings to achieve certain desired properties, such as improved shelf life, glass adhesion, improved oxidation and hydrolytic stability of the coating, and the like. There are many different types of desirable additives, and the inventions discussed herein are not intended to be limited to these, however they are included in contemplated embodiments as they have the desired effect.

Examples of these are thermal inhibitors intended to prevent premature polymerization, exemplified by hydroquinone, hydroquinone derivatives, p-methoxyphenol, beta-naphthol, or sterically hindered phenols, such as 2, 6-di (tert-butyl) -p-cresol. The shelf life in the dark can be extended, for example, by using copper compounds (e.g., copper naphthenate, stearate, or octoate), phosphorus compounds (e.g., triphenylphosphine, tributylphosphine, triethyl phosphite, triphenyl phosphite, or tribenzyl phosphite), quaternary ammonium compounds (e.g., tetramethylammonium chloride or trimethylbenzylammonium chloride).

In order to prevent the entry of atmospheric oxygen during the polymerization, paraffin or similar waxy substances may be added; these substances migrate to the surface at the start of the polymerization due to their low solubility in the polymer and form a transparent surface layer which prevents the entry of air. An oxygen barrier layer may also be applied.

Light stabilizers which may be added are UV absorbers, for example the well-known commercial UV absorbers of the hydroxyphenyl benzotriazole, hydroxyphenyl benzophenone, oxamide or hydroxyphenyl-s-triazine type. Such compounds may be used alone or in mixtures with or without the use of sterically hindered, relatively non-basic amine light stabilizers (HALS). Sterically hindered amines are based, for example, on 2,2,6, 6-tetramethylpiperidine. UV absorbers and sterically hindered amines are, for example:

2- (2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazoles, such as the known commercially available hydroxyphenyl-2H-benzotriazoles and are described in U.S. patent nos. 3,004,896; 3,055,896, respectively; 3,072,585, respectively; 3,074,910, respectively; 3,189,615, respectively; 3,218,332, respectively; 3,230,194, respectively; 4,127,586, respectively; 4,226,763, respectively; 4,275,004, respectively; 4,278,589, respectively; 4,315,848, respectively; 4,347,180, respectively; 4,383,863, respectively; 4,675,352, respectively; 4,681,905, respectively; 4,853,471; 5,268,450, respectively; 5,278,314, respectively; 5,280,124, respectively; 5,319,091, respectively; 5,410,071, respectively; 5,436,349, respectively; 5,516,914, respectively; 5,554,760, respectively; 5,563,242, respectively; 5,574,166, respectively; 5,607,987, respectively; 5,977,219 and 6,166,218, for example, 2- (2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3, 5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (2-hydroxy-5-tert-butylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (2-hydroxy-5-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-chloro-2- (3, 5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-chloro-2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl-2H-benzotriazole, 2-hydroxy-methyl-phenyl-2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-sec-butyl-5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (2-hydroxy-4-octyloxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3, 5-di-tert-amyl-2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3, 5-bis-alpha-cumyl-2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2- (omega-hydroxy-octa- (ethyleneoxy) carbonyl-ethyl) -, phenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-dodecyl-2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) benzotriazole ) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2-octyloxycarbonyl) ethylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, dodecylated 2- (2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2-octyloxycarbonylethyl) phenyl) -5-chloro-2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-5- (2- (2-ethylhexyloxy) -carbonylethyl) -2-hydroxyphenyl) -5-chloro-2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2-methoxycarbonyloxy) -2H-benzotriazole Carbonylethyl) phenyl) -5-chloro-2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2-methoxycarbonylethyl) phenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-5- (2- (2-ethylhexyloxy) carbonylethyl) -2-hydroxyphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2-isooctyloxycarbonylethyl) phenyl-2H-benzotriazole, 2' -methylene-bis (4-tert-octyl- (6-2H-benzotriazol-2-yl) phenol); and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, 2- (2-hydroxy-3-alpha-cumyl-5-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2- (2-hydroxy-3-tert-octyl-5-alpha-cumylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-fluoro-2- (2-hydroxy-3, 5-di-alpha-cumylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-chloro-2- (2-hydroxy-3-alpha-cumyl-5-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 2-hydroxy-3-alpha-cumylphenyl-2H-benzotriazole, 2-hydroxy-3-cumyl-5-tert-octylphenyl-benzotriazole, 2-hydroxy-3-cumyl-2H-benzotriazole, 2-hydroxy-, 2- (3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5- (2-isooctyloxycarbonylethyl) phenyl) -5-chloro-2H-benzotriazole, 5-trifluoromethyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3-. alpha. -cumyl-5-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-trifluoromethyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3, 5-di-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 3- (5-trifluoromethyl-2H-benzotriazol-2-yl) -5-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamic acid methyl ester, 2-hydroxy-5- (2-isooctyloxycarbonylethyl) phenyl) -5-chloro-2H-benzotriazole, 5-trifluoromethyl-2- (2-hydroxy-5-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-trifluoromethyl, 5-Butylsulfonyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3-. alpha. -cumyl-5-tert-octylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-trifluoromethyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3-. alpha. -cumyl-5-tert-butylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-trifluoromethyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3, 5-di-alpha-cumylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole, 5-butylsulfonyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3, 5-di-tert-butylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole and 5-phenylsulfonyl-2- (2-hydroxy-3, 5-di-tert-butylphenyl) -2H-benzotriazole.

2-hydroxybenzophenones, for example the 4-hydroxy derivative, the 4-methoxy derivative, the 4-octyloxy derivative, the 4-decyloxy derivative, the 4-dodecyloxy derivative, the 4-benzyloxy derivative, the 4,2',4' -trihydroxy derivative and the 2 '-hydroxy-4, 4' -dimethoxy derivative.

Esters of substituted and unsubstituted benzoic acids, for example 4-tert-butylphenyl salicylate, phenyl salicylate, octylphenyl salicylate, dibenzoyl resorcinol, bis (4-tert-butylbenzoyl) resorcinol, benzoyl resorcinol, 2, 4-di-tert-butylphenyl 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoate, hexadecyl 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoate, octadecyl 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoate, 2-methyl-4, 6-di-tert-butylphenyl 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoate.

When the composition is a primary coating, the additive component comprises, consists of, or consists essentially of one or more adhesion promoter compounds. The adhesion promoter provides a bond between the polymeric primary coating and the surface of the optical glass fiber. Hydrolyzable silane coupling agents have been used as glass adhesion promoters. Silane coupling agents are described, for example, in U.S. patent No.4,932,750. In one embodiment, the adhesion promoter is a hydrolyzable silane compound containing a mercapto group and/or a plurality of alkoxy groups. Such adhesion promoters are known and described in U.S. patent application No.20020013383, the relevant portions of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the adhesion promoter comprises one or more of gamma-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, trimethoxysilylpropyl acrylate, or 3-trimethoxysilylpropane-1-thiol. The silane coupling group may alternatively be reacted onto the oligomer in the oligomer component; in this case, they will not be considered as additives, but part of the oligomer component.

Colorants, such as dyes or pigments, are known. However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, insofar as a primary or clear secondary coating composition is used, the composition does not contain a colorant, such as a pigment. In a preferred embodiment, the primary coating composition or the clear secondary coating composition for optical fibers according to the first aspect comprises less than 0.1 wt.%, or less than 0.05 wt.%, or less than 0.01 wt.%, or less than 0.005 wt.% of pigment, relative to the weight of the entire composition. In one embodiment, the clear secondary coating composition comprises 0 wt% pigment.

However, in other possible embodiments, the composition is a pigmented secondary coating composition or ink composition. In such embodiments, the colored secondary or ink composition comprises one or more pigments. In a broad sense, a pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light due to wavelength selective absorption. Pigments for optical fiber coatings are well known. Examples of businesses include: titanium dioxide white (Dupont R-960), carbon black (Degussa Special 4A or Columbian Raven 420), lamp black (General carbon LB #6), phthalocyanine blue G (Sun 249-1282), phthalocyanine blue R (Cookson BT698D), phthalocyanine green B (Sun 264-0238), phthalocyanine green Y (Mobay G5420), light chrome yellow (Cookson Y934D), benzidine yellow (Sun 274-3954), organic yellow (Hoechst H4G), medium chrome yellow (Cookson Y969D), yellow oxide (Pfizer YL02288D), lead-free yellow (BASF Paliotol 1770), green Ci (Hoover 195), pyroochre (Lansco 3240X), lead-free orange (Hoechst 70), red oxide (Red Rzer 2998), molar (Cookson (Cokson), Ci (Hoove) 358), red Red RJ 3527 (RK 883627) and quinacridone RT 759). Other pigments are described in WO1990013579A 1.

In addition to pigments, the novel compositions may also comprise photoreducible dyes, for example xanthene, benzanthracene, benzothioxanthene, thiazine, pyronine, porphyrin or acridine dyes which can be cleaved by radiation and/or trihalomethyl compounds, in order to enhance the color. Similar compositions are described, for example, in U.S. patent No.5,229,253.

For colored secondary or ink compositions, any suitable type or amount of pigment may be used, and may be selected in combination of two or more of the types listed herein. In one embodiment, the pigment is present in an amount of 0.001 to 5 wt%, or 0.005 to 3 wt%, or 0.01 to 1 wt%, relative to the weight of the entire composition.

Other additives

To accelerate the photopolymerization, accelerators, coinitiators and autooxidants, for example mercaptans, thioethers, disulfides and phosphines, can be added, as described, for example, in EP-A-438123 and GB-A-2180358.

Photopolymerization can also be accelerated by the addition of photosensitizers that change or broaden the spectral sensitivity. These photosensitizers are, in particular, aromatic carbonyl compounds, such as benzophenone derivatives, thioxanthone derivatives, anthraquinone derivatives and 3-acylcoumarin derivatives, and also 3- (aroylmethylene) thiazolines (3- (arylmethyl) thiazolines), and also eosin, rhodamine and erythrosine dyes.

The curing process may be assisted by: components that form free radicals under thermal conditions, such as azo compounds (e.g., 2' -azobis (4-methoxy-2, 4-dimethylvaleronitrile), triazenes, diazo sulfides, pentazadienes) or peroxy compounds (e.g., hydroperoxides or peroxycarbonates, such as t-butyl hydroperoxide) are added, as described in U.S. patent No.4,753,817.

The novel compositions may also comprise photoreducible dyes, such as xanthene, benzoxanthene, benzothioxanthene, thiazine, pyronine, porphyrin or acridine dyes which can be cleaved by radiation and/or trihalomethyl compounds. Similar compositions are described, for example, in U.S. patent No.5,229,253.

Other conventional additives may be used depending on the intended application. Examples include fillers, wetting agents or leveling aids. For example, as described in U.S. patent No.5,013,768, thick coatings may also contain glass beads or powdered glass fibers.

One or more of the above additives may be used in the composition according to the invention in any suitable amount and may be selected individually or in combination with one or more of the types listed herein. In a preferred embodiment, the additive component is present in an amount of about 0.01 wt% to about 5 wt%, more preferably about 0.1 wt% to about 2 wt%, relative to the total weight of the composition. According to another embodiment, one or more of the above additives are included in an amount of about 1% to about 5% by weight.

A second aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a coated optical fiber, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) drawing a glass optical fiber by a drawing tower;

(b) applying a primary coating composition to a surface of a glass optical fiber;

(c) optionally, applying a dose of UV light to at least partially cure the primary coating composition;

(d) applying a secondary coating composition to the primary coating composition;

(e) exposing the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to at least one radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation to effect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to form a cured primary coating on the surface of the optical fiber, and a cured secondary coating on the surface of the cured primary coating;

wherein at least one of the primary coating composition or the secondary coating composition comprises a reactive oligomer comprising an average of at least one polymerizable group;

a monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group; and

a photoinitiator;

wherein the photoinitiator has:

(i) a normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ of greater than 0.5, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7, or between 0.35 and 0.9, or between 0.35 and 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75, wherein the polymerization rate at 150 ℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150 ℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25 ℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of a photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by an RT-FTIR method using crystals having a 60 micron film and a mW of 20/cm²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb;

(ii) the ionization potential is 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.1eV to 3.88eV, or 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or 3.1eV to 3.86eV, or 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or 3.2eV to 3.75eV, wherein the ionization potential excites triplet states according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G

(d) Combined with the Copmann theorem (IP ═ epsilon)_HOMO) And (4) calculating.

In a preferred embodiment, the one or more LEDs emit actinic radiation with a peak spectral output of 375nm to 450nm, or 375nm to 410nm, or 380nm to 405nm, or 390nm to 400 nm. Alternatively, the light source may consist solely of an LED light source capable of emitting actinic radiation having a peak spectral output from 375nm to 410nm, or from 380nm to 405nm, or from 390nm to 400 nm.

As described above, methods of coating optical fibers are well known. Any of the coatings and photoinitiators described in embodiments of the first aspect of the invention may be incorporated in the method according to the second aspect.

In one embodiment, the process for producing the coated optical fiber is performed at an increased line speed, for example at a draw speed of more than 1500m/min, or more than 1700m/min, or more than 2000m/min, or more than 2500m/min, or more than 3000m/min, and less than 5000m/min, or less than 4000m/min, or less than 3100 m/min.

A third aspect of the present invention is a coated optical fiber produced by any of the methods according to the second aspect and/or using any of the radiation curable coating compositions according to the first aspect. Any fiber type may be used in embodiments of the present invention. However, in a preferred embodiment, the coated optical fiber has a mode field diameter of 8 to 10 μm at a wavelength of 1310nm, or 9 to 13 μm at a wavelength of 1550nm, and/or 20 to 200 μm²The effective area therebetween. Such fibers may be single mode and/or large effective area fibers in view of the anticipated demand for coating processes of these fibers with higher line or process speeds. However, other types of optical fibers, such as multimode fibers, may also be used.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is an optical fiber cable comprising a plurality of coated optical fibers disposed within at least a portion of the cable, wherein at least one of the plurality of coated optical fibers comprises a coating that is the cured product of a radiation curable composition comprising a photoinitiator as described in any of the embodiments of the first aspect.

The optical fiber cable according to the fourth aspect of the present invention preferably comprises a plurality of coated optical fibers according to the third aspect which have been coated and processed according to the method of the present invention of the second aspect by a radiation curable coating according to the first aspect.

The improved compositions, particularly the primary coating composition, the clear secondary coating composition, and the colored secondary coating composition, for high speed optical fiber coating applications and/or utilizing LED curing sources can be formulated by selecting components and formulation guidelines as defined herein above and which are further readily adjusted by one of ordinary skill in the art by following and/or deducing the general methods employed in the embodiments illustrated in the examples below. The following examples further illustrate the invention but, of course, should not be construed as in any way limiting its scope

Examples

These examples illustrate embodiments of the invention. Tables 1A and 1B describe the various components of the compositions used in this example. Table 2 describes the triplet ionization potential of various known photoinitiators. Meanwhile, tables 3A, 3B, and 3C describe various experimental results of compositions suitable as a primary coating, a clear secondary coating, and a colored secondary coating, respectively.

TABLE 1A

The raw materials used to create the formulations described in tables 3A-3C.

TABLE 1B

The weight percentages listed. .

Synthesis of oligomer A

To produce oligomer a, all components were used in the proportions specified in table 1B above. In a500 mL four-necked dry flask, the reactor was charged with 63.75g TDS 80/20 and 0.30g stabilizer (BHT) and maintained at ambient temperature while stirring under dry air. Next, 42.51g of 2-Hydroxyethoxyacrylate (HEA) was added. The reactive endblocker (2-HEA) was then metered in at a rate to limit the reaction temperature to below 60 ℃ and stirred for 1 hour. 193.29g of Pulacol P1010 were then added, and finally 0.15g of dibutyltin dilaurate as catalyst were added. After an initial increase in temperature due to the corresponding exothermic reaction was observed, the solution was raised to 80 ℃ and subsequently the temperature was maintained for about 2 hours. Next, the presence of unreacted isocyanate groups (NCO) was measured once per hour until the amount of unreacted isocyanate groups was less than 0.10%.

Synthesis of oligomer 1

To produce oligomer 1, all components were used in the proportions specified in table 1B above. In a500 mL four-necked dry flask, the reactor was charged with 33.16g TDS and 0.92g stabilizer (BHT) and kept at ambient temperature while stirring under dry air. Next, 14.75g of 2-HEA was added. The reactive endcapping agent (2-HEA) was then metered in at a rate to limit the reaction temperature to below 60 ℃. The mixture was then stirred for 1 hour. Next, 250.96g of Lupranol 1000 were added, and finally 0.18g of DBTDL as catalyst were added. After an initial increase in temperature due to the corresponding exothermic reaction was observed, the solution was raised to 60 ℃ and subsequently the temperature was maintained for about 2 hours. Next, the presence of unreacted isocyanate groups (NCO) was measured once per hour until the amount of unreacted isocyanate groups was less than 0.05%.

Examples 1 to 2 and comparative examples 1 to 3

The formulations of example 1 and comparative examples 1-2 were prepared from 99% SR 504 (ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, Sartomer) and 1% photoinitiator. The curing curves were recorded at different temperatures using FT-IR, and the maximum rate and normalized maximum rate (rate at T/rate at 25 ℃) were determined and the results are shown in Table 3A.

Example 2 and comparative example 3 were also prepared according to the reagents listed in table 3A, and a photoinitiator component was added to ensure equivalent mole percent in the entire formulation. Surface conversion at 395nm and 400nm was performed and measured for 50mg of each formulation, further evaluated at 50 ℃ and 105 ℃, according to the LED-DSC method described below, and the values are recorded in table 3A.

Example 3 and comparative example 4

The formulations of example 3 and comparative example 4 were prepared according to standard methods known in the art to which the present invention applies, using the ingredients in tables 1A and 1B above, and the amounts listed in table 3B below. The weight of the photoinitiator components was varied, but this was done to ensure that the mole percentages were consistent in both formulations. The formulation was cured by the LED-DSC method described below under an inert atmosphere at two different temperatures and by a light source with two different peak wavelengths. The conversion of each sample at the top and bottom of the film was then measured for each test setup and the results are recorded in table 3B and graphically depicted in fig. 2. Turning to FIG. 2, there are four sets of charts; one for example 3 and the other for comparative example 4, tested at 395nm and 400nm cure conditions. From left to right, the first and third set of graphs correspond to comparative example 4, while the second and fourth set of graphs correspond to example 3. For each set of graphs, solid color bars represent the cure performance at the surface of each sample film when cured at 50 ℃. The bars with horizontal lines indicate the curing properties of the sample surface when cured at 105 ℃. Similarly, the diagonal bars indicate the curing properties of the bottom of the film at 50 ℃. Finally, the bars with the diamond pattern represent the cure performance of the top of each sample when cured at 105 ℃.

Example 4 and comparative example 5

The formulations of example 4 and comparative example 5 were prepared according to standard methods known in the art to which the present invention applies using the ingredients in tables 1a and 1b above and the amounts listed in table 3C below. The formulation was cured by the LED-DSC method described below under an inert atmosphere at two different temperatures and by a light source with two different peak wavelengths. The conversion of each sample at the top and bottom of the film was then measured for each test setup and the results are recorded in table 3C and graphically depicted in fig. 3. Turning to FIG. 3, there are four sets of charts; one for example 4 and the other for comparative example 5, tested at 395nm and 400nm cure conditions. From left to right, the first and third set of graphs correspond to comparative example 5, while the second and fourth set of graphs correspond to example 4. For each set of graphs, solid color bars represent the cure performance at the surface of each sample film when cured at 50 ℃. The bars with horizontal lines indicate the curing performance at the sample surface when cured at 105 ℃. Similarly, the diagonal bars indicate the curing properties of the bottom of the film at 50 ℃. Finally, the bars with the diamond pattern represent the cure performance of the top of each sample when cured at 105 ℃.

Normalization and maximum polymerization Rate by RT-FTIR

Samples were measured using a Bruker Vertex 70 FT-IR spectrometer equipped with a fast scanning device, PIKE Technologies GladiATR accessory, and a high sensitivity MCT detector. Honle ultraviolet lamp (D-bulb) was used to perform the ultraviolet irradiation necessary for sample curing, and the lamp was run to preheat 30 minutes before the first test. A quartz light guide (3.0 mm diameter) was attached to the lamp to irradiate UV light onto the sample.

The measurement was performed as follows. Before the start of each curing experiment, the optical density at the sampling point was measured using a Solatell Solascope UV spectrometer. Intensity was set at 20mW/cm²The distance from the light guide to the sample is fixed at the same position by a holder in the device. The thickness of the liquid sample applied to the entire surface of the ATR assembly was kept at about 30 μm.

By applying 4cm^-1While averaging 100 scans to record the IR spectrum of the uncured sample. For the curing measurement, the sample was irradiated with ultraviolet rays of constant intensity. The IR measurement starts simultaneously with the illumination. In the initial phase, IR spectra were recorded every 0.07 seconds. After this initial period (about 8 seconds), the number of spectra to be averaged is increased to 100, resulting in a sampling frequency of one sample point every four seconds. At the end of each curing cycle, an infrared spectrum was recorded using the same conditions as for the uncured sample.

The curing curves of example 1, comparative example 1 and comparative example 2 were recorded with FT-IR in 25 ℃ steps; from these graphs, the maximum rate is determined by extracting the steepest slope. These values are then plotted as a function of temperature and are depicted in fig. 1. Turning to fig. 1, the experimentally observed data points for example 1 are shown as triangles and the curve fit (exponential fit using Microsoft Excel) of the applied data points is shown as a solid line. The data points observed for the experiment of comparative example 1 are shown as circles and the curve fit of the applied data points is shown as a dotted line. Finally, the experimentally observed data points for comparative example 2 are shown as diamonds and the curve fit of the applied data points is shown as a dashed line.

Data analysis was performed as described in Macromolecules 37, 2275(2004), 005, and the following. The maximum polymerization rates at three different temperatures (25 ℃, 100 ℃ and 150 ℃) and the normalized maximum polymerization rates (rate at T/rate at 25 ℃) were determined and listed in Table 3 as "maximum rate" and "normalized maximum rate", respectively.

Converting; LED-DSC method

The LED-DSC method for curing coating samples for curing degree measurement using photo-DSC equipped with an LED lamp is described below. Since the coating process using a monochromatic light source (e.g., LED) is more susceptible to oxygen inhibition, the degree of surface cure versus N during cure₂O in purged air conditions₂The content is particularly sensitive. Due to difficulties in accurately controlling O in the relevant open environment₂Content, the usual conveyor belt equipment used to prepare conventional film samples can vary greatly in surface curing. The LED-DSC method using a photo-DSC device as described below is advantageous in this respect because it provides better control over the atmospheric conditions in the sample chamber. This results in a higher level of accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility of the coating surface cure level data.

Cured film samples were prepared from LED-DSC units: a specified amount of each sample (shown below) was dropped into the center of a T130522DSC Tzero pan. The pan was then moved to the sample plate of a Q2000 DSC unit of TA Instruments. The lamp holder of the DSC unit is based onThe known method of NanoTool stereolithography resin is tailored and manufactured to ensure proper installation of the lamps used (Accucure ULM-2-395 or ULM-2-400 LED lamps from Digital Light Labs for 395nm and 400nm conversion, respectively). May be formed by any other known method, such as injection moulding or CNC method, by any suitable methodThe exact dimensions of the lamp made of the material of (a) are depicted in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the lamp socket 1 has a circular base 2 with an outer diameter of 2.47 inches and a flat first face 3 with a height of 0.21 inches. The chamfered circular upper boss 4 with an outer diameter of 1.71 inches and an inner diameter of 1.36 inches is concentric with the circular base 2, except that: the parallel chamfer sections are shown to have an outer pitch 7 of 1.54 inches and an inner pitch 8 of 1.20 inches. The circular upper boss 4 also has a flat second face 5, the flat second face 5 having a height of 0.55 inches relative to the flat first face 3, such that the flat first face 3 and the flat second face 5 are coplanar.

The bottom of the custom base has the same geometry as a "conventional" photo-DSC base, but the top of the base is custom designed to match the LED cap used. The LED light emitted a flood area, but passed through both holes in the sample cover and exposed light on both the sample and reference plates. Thus, the customized lamp holder fixes the distance between the lamp and the sample/reference plate, ensuring that the exposure area is also fixed by aligning the lamp with the two holes on the sample cover and the sample and reference plates.

By connecting the "event" outlet of the DSC to the acquisition Photo Rheometer Ultraviolet Illumination and Measurement System (acquisition Photo Rheometer Illumination & Measurement System) or the LED exposure control System, the accompanying LED external shutter can be automatically triggered. The "event" outlet of the Photo-DSC has been connected to the cooling system and triggered the cooling system as required. Here it is connected to an LED exposure control system to automatically activate the LED lamp. The exposure time is controlled by an "on" or "off event to maximize the accuracy of the exposure time and the ability to automatically control when the light intensity is preset by the LED exposure control system.

Each liquid sample was gradually and uniformly wetted to form a film with a determined thickness in the pan. These films were then cured with an LED lamp. The intensity and exposure time of the light can be adjusted by the Accure photo rheometer UV illumination and measurement system, while the curing temperature and N are adjusted₂The flow rate can be adjusted by the DSC unit. N at about 50mL/min₂Each sample was equilibrated at the indicated temperature (50 ℃ or 105 ℃, depending on the test used) at the flow rate and thermostated for about 5 minutes, after which 395nm or 400nm (depending on the test used) LED lamps with the indicated intensity were lit and held for the indicated period of time. Next, the solidified sample was further isothermally set for 2 minutes. For the primary coatings shown in table 3A, approximately 50mg of the liquid sample was cured in a DSC aluminate pan by: exposing it to 10mW/cm²Under 395nm or 400nm LED light (depending on the experiment, as shown in Table 3A) for 3 seconds. Meanwhile, for the clear and colored secondary coatings described in tables 3B and 3C, about 1.5mg of each liquid sample was cured in a DSC aluminate pan by: exposing it to 50mW/cm²395nm or 400nm LED light (as shown in Table 3B or 3C) for 9 seconds. The cured film was then carefully peeled off the bottom of the Tzero disc. Finally, the surface (and/or bottom, if relevant) of the cured film was measured and the conversion was calculated according to the FTIR test method described herein.

Surface and bottom cure of the film samples was measured by FTIR: the surface of the cured film was measured by ATR using a Nicolet 4700FTIR spectrometer from Thermo Electron corp. At about 1485cm^-1To about 1570cm^-1The area under the reference peak at (a) is measured; about 1407cm was also measured^-1Acrylate peak at (a). The peak area was determined using a baseline technique in which the baseline was chosen to be tangent to the minimum absorbance on either side of the peak. The areas below the peak and above the baseline were then determined. The integral limits for the liquid and cured samples are different, but similar, especially for the reference peak.

The ratio of the acrylate peak area to the reference peak was determined for the liquid sample and the cured sample. The degree of cure, expressed as percent reacted acrylate unsaturation (RAU%), can be calculated by the following formula:

% RAU percent [ (RL-RF) x100]/RL

Where RL is the area ratio of the liquid sample and RF is the area ratio of the cured film.

The resulting coatings on the films were tested for% RAU using FTIR method as described above and shown in table 3 below.

It should be noted that under typical fiber draw conditions cured by LED lamps, it is expected that the% RAU of film samples cured by LED-DSC method will be much lower than the actual secondary coating surface cure on the fiber. First, this occurs because the LED lamp used to coat the optical fiber in the actual draw tower has a higher output intensity than the LED lamp used on the LED-DSC unit. Moreover, LED lamps custom designed for the fiber draw process are highly concentrated in a small area of the fiber, thus providing higher irradiance than the lamp conditions used in LED-DSC. However, the relative trend of the% RAU results for a series of film samples as shown in table 3 is expected to be closely related to the degree of in situ cure of the coating on the fiber. Thus, the LED-DSC method is a reliable laboratory test that can be used as an accurate alternative to predict the relative tendency of primary and secondary coating curing on optical fibers through a typical fiber drawing process equipped with LED lamps.

Calculation of ionization potential

The procedure herein is used to derive all values of ionization potential. First, with the help of Spartan 14 software (Spartan'14 version 1.1.2, 24.10.2013, Wavefunction Inc) And constructing the molecular structure of the target system. Conformational analysis was performed using Merck Molecular Force Field (MMFF) using the same procedure. All MMFF constellations were then minimized using semi-empirical parameterization method 6(PM 6).

All unique conformations resulting from the optimized run of PM6 were derived as an xyz coordinate file, which was then used as a starting point for more advanced quantum mechanical calculations at the B3LYP/6-31g (d) level using the Gaussian 09 program (Gaussian 09, review c.01, MJ Frisch, GW Trucks et al, Gaussian, inc., Wallingford CT, 2010). The spin infinite wavefunction for the radical and triplet states is then calculated.

After all optimization runs, an unconstrained B3LYP/6-31g (d) frequency calculation was performed to identify whether the resulting B3LYP/6-31g (d) structure is at a true minimum energy on the potential energy plane.

The Ionization Potential (IP) is determined globally under the assumption of the Copmann's theoremThe result of the minimum conformation, i.e. IP, is derived from the base as P ═ ε_HOMOIs obtained from the energy of the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO), which is converted from au (Hartree) to electron volts (1Hartree ═ 27.211383 eV). Values are expressed in electron volts (eV).

The ionization potentials of the triplet states of several known Norrish type I photoinitiators calculated according to this method are shown in table 2 below.

TABLE 2

Calculated triplet ionization potential of Norrish type I cleavage initiators

TABLE 3A

A primary coating composition. Examples 1-2 and comparative examples 1-3. Amounts are listed in parts by weight.

TABLE 3B

A clear secondary coating composition. Amounts are listed in parts by weight.

Examples	C.4	3
			Oligomer A	30.00	30.00
CN120Z	40.00	40.00
			SR306	30.50	30.58
SR339	2.00	2.00
			Irganox 1035	0.50	0.50
BAPO	2.00
			BAG		1.92
DOWSIL 57	0.20	0.20
			DOWSIL 190	0.40	0.40
TOTALS	105.60	105.60
			Calculated ionization potential (eV) of the photoinitiator	3.98	3.49
395nm LED @50 ℃; film surface (RAU%)	47.00	64.83
			395nm LED @50 ℃; bottom of the membrane (RAU%)	88.78	90.50
395nm LED @105 ℃; film surface (RAU%)	81.62	94.73
			395nm LED @105 ℃; bottom of the membrane (RAU%)	97.93	99.20
400nm LED @50 ℃; film surface (RAU%)	44.84	74.23
			400nm LED @50 ℃; bottom of the membrane (RAU%)	89.58	92.28
400nm LED @105 ℃; film surface (RAU%)	77.42	89.91
			400nm LED @105 ℃; bottom of the membrane (RAU%)	98.83	97.46

TABLE 3C

A colored secondary composition. Amounts are listed in parts by weight.

Discussion of results

The above table demonstrates that some of the resulting cure properties are excellent at many different cure temperatures, locations along a given coating (i.e., surface or bottom), and exposure wavelengths when using compositions according to the present invention. As is evident from the primary coating composition formulated in table 3A, wherein, although example 1 exhibited a similar maximum conversion at room temperature as its corresponding comparative example, a higher efficiency was maintained at elevated temperatures. This is indicated by the fact that: example 1 showed a normalized maximum rate at 150 ℃ that was more than twice that of the comparative example. The effect is similarly shown on the film surface cure ratio, with example 2 being superior to comparative example 3 at both 395nm and 400 nm.

Tables 3B and 3C show that secondary coating compositions can also exhibit this improved effect. Here, at two different curing wavelengths (395 nm and 400nm, respectively), transparent secondary example 3 is superior to comparative example 4 in RAU% at the surface and bottom of the film, and colored secondary example 3 is superior to comparative example 5. This effect is most pronounced at the film surface, where a high degree of surface curing is important to prevent the problem of sticking together towards the outer coating during winding of the coated optical fiber.

Additional exemplary embodiments

Other alternative exemplary embodiments are disclosed herein. A first aspect of a first additional exemplary embodiment is a radiation curable composition for coating an optical fiber, comprising:

a urethane acrylate oligomer that is the reaction product of an isocyanate, a polyol, and a (meth) acrylate monomer;

a reactive diluent monomer;

optionally, one or more additives; and

norrish type I photoinitiator; wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator has: ionization potential of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.1eV to 3.88eV or 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or 3.1eV to 3.86eV, or 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or 3.2eV to 3.75eV, wherein the ionization potential excites triplet states according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) Coumann's theorem (IP ═ ε)_HOMO) And (4) calculating.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is a radiation curable composition for coating an optical fiber, comprising:

a urethane acrylate oligomer that is the reaction product of an isocyanate, a polyol, and a (meth) acrylate monomer;

a reactive diluent monomer;

optionally, one or more additives; and

norrish type I photoinitiator; wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator has: a normalized polymerization rate at 150 degrees Celsius (C.) of greater than 0.5 and up to 1.0, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7, or 0.35 to 0.9, or 0.35 to 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25℃, wherein the mixture is atComprising 1 part by weight of a Norrish type I photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of an ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate and the polymerization rate is determined by the RT-FTIR method using ATR crystals with a film of 60 microns and an irradiance of 20mW/cm²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is a radiation curable composition for coating an optical fiber comprising:

a urethane acrylate oligomer that is the reaction product of an isocyanate, a polyol, and a (meth) acrylate monomer;

a reactive diluent monomer;

optionally, one or more additives; and

norrish type I photoinitiator; wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is the composition according to any of the preceding aspects, wherein the radiation curable composition is substantially free of pigment,

or wherein the pigment is present in an amount of less than 0.05 wt%, or less than 0.01 wt%, or less than 0.005 wt%, relative to the weight of the entire composition.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is a composition according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the composition is substantially free of acylphosphine oxide photoinitiators.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is the composition according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the composition is a primary coating composition further comprising an adhesion promoter, and wherein, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

the urethane acrylate oligomer is present in an amount of 40 wt% to 90 wt%;

the reactive diluent monomer is present in an amount of 5 to 60 weight percent.

The additive is present in an amount of 0 wt% to 40 wt%; and

the Norrish type I photoinitiator is present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is the composition according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the composition is a secondary coating composition, and wherein, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

the urethane acrylate oligomer is present in an amount of 10 wt% to 85 wt%;

the reactive diluent monomer further comprises

A monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound present in an amount of from 0 wt% to 20 wt%, and

a multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound present in an amount of 10 to 75 weight percent;

the additive is present in an amount of 0 wt% to 40 wt%; and

the Norrish type I photoinitiator is present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is the composition according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the urethane acrylate oligomer has an average of 0.8 to 2.2 polymerizable groups or an average of 1.8 to 2.2 polymerizable groups, and wherein the polyol comprises polypropylene glycol.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is a composition according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound having a structure according to formula (I):

wherein Ar is₁Is an aromatic radical which is unsubstituted or further substituted in any position by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, further aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals, and wherein R is₁、R₂And R₃Independent of each otherOr acyl, aryl, alkyl or carbonyl, which is unsubstituted or further substituted by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, additional aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups, or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals;

one of the following conditions is also satisfied:

(a)R₁-R₃each of which is an aryl-substituted group or an aromatic acyl group; or

(b)R₁-R₃Exactly two of which are aryl-substituted radicals or aromatic acyl radicals, the remaining substituted radicals being C₁-C₁₀An alkyl group; or

(c)R₁-R₃Wherein exactly one is an aryl-substituted group or an aromatic acyl group and the remaining two substituted groups are C₁-C₁₀An alkyl group; or

(d)R₁-R₃Each of which is C₁-C₁₀An alkyl group.

Another aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment is a composition according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the Norrish type I photoinitiator comprises at least 80 wt.%, relative to the total weight of all Norrish type I photoinitiators present in the composition, of one or both of the following compounds:

a first aspect of a second additional exemplary embodiment is a method for producing a coated optical fiber, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) drawing a glass optical fiber by a drawing tower;

(b) applying a primary coating composition to a surface of a glass optical fiber;

(c) optionally, applying a dose of UV light to at least partially cure the primary coating composition;

(d) applying a secondary coating composition to the primary coating composition;

(e) exposing the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to at least one radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation to effect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to form a cured primary coating on the surface of the optical fiber, and a cured secondary coating on the surface of the cured primary coating; wherein at least one of the primary coating composition or the secondary coating composition comprises a composition comprising

A reactive oligomer having an average of at least one polymerizable group;

a monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group; and

a photoinitiator;

wherein the photoinitiator has a normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ of greater than 0.5, or greater than 0.6, or greater than 0.7, or between 0.35 and 0.9, or between 0.35 and 0.8, or 0.35 to 0.75, or 0.4 to 0.8, or 0.4 to 0.75, or 0.5 to 0.8, or 0.5 to 0.75, or 0.6 to 0.8, or 0.6 to 0.75, wherein the normalized polymerization rate at 150 ℃ is the maximum polymerization rate (in mmol/kg sec) of the mixture at 150 ℃ divided by the maximum polymerization rate of the mixture at 25 ℃, wherein the mixture comprises 1 part by weight of the photoinitiator and 99 parts by weight of ethoxylated nonylphenol acrylate, and the polymerization rate is determined by an ATR RT-FTIR method using crystals having a film size of 60 micrometers and a mW/cm of 20²While proceeding with the dr. honle D-bulb.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is a method for producing a coated optical fiber, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) drawing a glass optical fiber by a drawing tower;

(b) applying a primary coating composition to a surface of a glass optical fiber;

(c) optionally, applying a dose of UV light to at least partially cure the primary coating composition;

(d) applying a secondary coating composition to the primary coating composition;

(e) exposing the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to at least one radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation to effect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition to form a cured primary coating on the surface of the optical fiber, and a cured secondary coating on the surface of the cured primary coating;

wherein at least one of the primary coating composition or the secondary coating composition comprises a reactive oligomer comprising an average of at least one polymerizable group;

a monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group; and

a photoinitiator;

wherein the photoinitiator has a potential excited triplet state with an ionization potential of 3.0 electron volts (eV) to 3.90eV, or 3.1eV to 3.88eV, or 3.1eV to 3.87eV, or 3.1eV to 3.86eV or 3.15eV to 3.80eV, or 3.15eV to 3.50eV, or 3.2eV to 3.75eV, wherein the ionization potential is according to the molecular model B3LYP/6-31G (d) Cockmann's theorem (IP ═ ε ═ C)_HOMO) And (4) calculating.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the radiation source capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation to affect curing of the primary coating composition and the secondary coating composition comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of one or more LEDs; wherein the one or more LEDs emit actinic radiation with a peak spectral output of 375nm to 450nm, or 375nm to 410nm, or 380nm to 405nm, or 390nm to 400 nm.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the photoinitiator comprises a compound substituted with an alkyl, aryl, or acyl group, wherein the alkyl, aryl, or acyl substituted compound further has an atom selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, tin, and lead.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method of any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the photoinitiator comprises an acylgermanium compound having a structure according to formula (I) below:

wherein Ar is₁Is an aromatic radical which is unsubstituted or further substituted in any position by: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, further aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals, wherein R is₁、R₂And R₃Independently an acyl group, an aryl group, an alkyl group or a carbonyl group, which is unsubstituted or further substituted as follows: one or more alkyl radicals, ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, halogens, carboxyl groups, vinyl groups, additional aromatic or heterocyclic groups, aromatic or heterocyclic groups interrupted by one or more ethers, sulfides, silyl groups, carboxyl groups, or vinyl groups, or alkyl radicals.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the primary coating composition further comprises an additive component, and wherein, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

the reactive oligomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group is present in an amount of 40 to 80 weight percent;

the monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group is present in an amount of 10 to 60 weight percent;

the additive component is present in an amount of 0 wt% to 40 wt% and further comprises a glass adhesion promoter; and

the photoinitiator is present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the second coating composition further comprises an additive component, and wherein, relative to the weight of the entire composition:

the reactive oligomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group is present in an amount of 10 to 80 weight percent;

the monomer containing an average of at least one polymerizable group is present in an amount of 10 to 60 weight percent, wherein the monomer further comprises a monofunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound and a multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound;

the additive component is present in an amount of from 0 wt% to 40 wt%; and

the photoinitiator is present in an amount of 0.005 wt% to 5 wt%.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any of the preceding aspects, wherein

The additive component of the secondary coating composition further comprises a pigment; and/or

The multifunctional ethylenically unsaturated compound comprises bisphenol a diacrylate.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the photoinitiator exhibits a film surface cure, expressed as a percent reactive acrylate unsaturation (% RAU), of at least 60%, or at least 65%, or at least 75%, or at least 80%, or at least 85%, or 60 to 95%, or 70 to 95%, or 75 to 92%, or 80 to 91%, when incorporated into a mixture of 1.5mg of a secondary coating composition comprising 4.8mmol by weight (4.8mmol by weight) of the photoinitiator, and when cured and measured according to the LED-DSC method at 105 ℃ and using a 400nm LED light source.

Another aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment is the method according to any of the preceding aspects, wherein the stretching is performed under one of the following conditions:

at a drawing speed of more than 1500m/min, or more than 1700m/min, or more than 2000m/min, or more than 2500m/min, or more than 3000m/min, and less than 5000m/min, or less than 4000m/min, or less than 3100 m/min; or either

Helium is applied in the absence of helium at a rate of less than 20 standard liters per minute (SLM) or less than 10SLM, or less than 5SLM, or 1 to 20SLM, or 1 to 10SLM, or 1 to 5SLM, or 5 to 20SLM, or 5 to 10 SLM.

The first aspect of the third additional exemplary embodiment is a coated optical fiber produced by the method of any aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment and/or any composition of the first additional exemplary embodiment.

Another aspect of the third additional exemplary embodiment is the coated optical fiber according to the previous aspect of the third additional exemplary embodiment, wherein the coated optical fiber has a mode field diameter of 8-10 μm at a wavelength of 1310nm, or a mode field diameter of 9-13 μm at a wavelength of 1550nm, and/or 20 to 200 μm²The effective area of (a).

The first aspect of the fourth additional exemplary embodiment is a fiber optic cable comprising a plurality of coated optical fibers disposed within at least a portion of the cable, wherein at least one of the plurality of coated optical fibers is a coated optical fiber according to any aspect of the third additional exemplary embodiment, a coated optical fiber produced by any method of any aspect of the second additional exemplary embodiment, and/or is a cured product of the radiation curable composition of any aspect of the first additional exemplary embodiment.

Unless otherwise indicated, the term wt% refers to the amount by mass of a particular component relative to the entire liquid radiation curable composition into which it is incorporated.

The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "including," and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as claimed.