Desoto, Inc.

Joseph J Stanton

Orvid R Cutler, Jr

Clive J Coady

Elias P Moschovis

Timothy Edward Bishop

George I Pasternack

Donald W Fieder

Christopher E Fisher

An ultraviolet-curable coating composition adapted for the buffer coating of optical glass fiber consists essentially of an acrylate-capped polyurethane in admixture with at least about 25% of its weight of liquid monoethylenically unsaturated monomer having a low glass transition temperature below about 0.degree. C. and at least about 3% of N-vinyl pyrrolidone based on the weight of the low glass transition temperature monomer. The acrylate-capped polyurethane is based on a generally linear polyurethane which is the reaction product of organic diisocyanate with a stoichiometric deficiency of a modified diol which is the diester reaction product of polyoxytetramethylene glycol having a molecular weight of from about 200 to about 2000 with a stoichiometric deficiency of an ethylenically unsaturated dicarboxylic acid or substitution product thereof, especially fumaric acid, to provide a higher molecular weight polyoxytetramethylene glycol which includes ester groups and copolymerizable ethylenic unsaturation which minimize crystallinity problems.

Acrylated polyurethanes based on polyoxytetramethylene glycols extended

An ultraviolet-curable coating composition adapted for the buffer coating of optical glass fiber consists essentially of an acrylate-capped polyurethane in admixture with at least about 25% of its weight of liquid monoethylenically unsaturated monomer having a low glass transition temperature below about 0.degree. C. The acrylate-capped polyurethane is based on a generally linear polyurethane which is the reaction product of organic diisocyanate with a stoichiometric deficiency of a modified diol, this modified diol being the diester reaction product of polyoxytetramethylene glycol having a molecular weight of from about 200 to about 2000 with a stoichiometric deficiency of a long chain ester-forming hydrocarbon-substituted dicarboxylic acid or ester-forming substitution product thereof. This provides a higher molecular weight polyoxytetramethylene glycol which includes ester groups and a long chain hydrocarbon substituent to improve microbending resistance while taking advantage of the better water resistance provided by the polyoxytetramethylene glycol component.

Acrylated polyurethanes based on polyoxytetramethylene glycol chain

A liquid ultraviolet-curable coating composition contains at least 45% up to 95% by weight of acrylated polyurethane-based oligomer comprising at least 10%, based on the total weight of polymerizable material, of an acrylated polyurethane-based ultraviolet-curable oligomer in which the oligomer is the reaction product of an organic diisocyanate with an polyepichlorohydrin polyether diol having a number average molecular weight of from about 1,000 to about 15,000, this reaction product being capped at each end thereof with a monohydric acrylate. At least about 5% up to 55% of the composition is a liquid acrylate-functional compound providing the coating composition with coating viscosity.

Urethane acrylates based on polyepichlorohydrin polyether diols and

Buffer-coated and overcoated optical glass fiber is disclosed in which the topcoat has the high strength and high tensile modulus combined with good elongation and water resistance associated with extruded jacket coatings, but which is applied by ordinary coating procedures and cured by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The coating compositions which enable this to be achieved comprise 30% to about 80% of linear diacrylate-functional polyurethanes which are the linear polyurethane reaction product of polycarbonate diol with organic diisocyanate in molar proportions providing an average of at least about 2 urethane linkages per molecule, these linear polyurethanes being end-capped with acrylate groups, and these polyurethanes being used in combination with at least 15% of liquid monoethylenically unsaturated monomer having a glass transition temperature above about 55.degree. C.

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Buffalo Grove, IL, United States of America

Joseph J Stanton