Ceramics-Silikáty 62, (4) 325 - 331 (2018)

Photo curable organic-inorganic monomers are currently generating much interest in many research groups worldwide due to their unique properties leading to a wide range of applications including electronics, energetics, medicine, etc. One of them, 3-trimethoxysilylpropylmethacrylate belongs to the class of such monomers having a wide range of relatively good mechanical, chemical and physical properties. Moreover, this monomer can be cured by different processes including heat treatment and light. Photochemically catalysed polymerisation of sol prepared from 3-trimethoxysilylpropylmethacrylate hybrid monomer and titanium tetraisopropoxide containing silver, copper and zinc ions was tested with two commercially available photoinitiators, a Darocur 1173 and an Irgacure 819. The aim of this study was to propose conditions for the effective polymerisation process leading to the maximal conversion of double bonds present in the organic part of the hybrid monomer and observe the potential effect of the ions. Particularly the copper ions by themselves and/or in combination with silver ions inside the hybrid matrix may influence the speed and conversion degree of the photochemically catalysed polymerisation processes.