Comparative study of methyl methacrylate cure by microwave radiation versus thermal energy

Abstract

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) was cured by microwave radiation at three different powers namely, 200 300 and 500 W. The temperature reached in the microwave cure was followed and a suitable temperature was selected for comparison with the conventional method of cure. The percentage conversion of the cure was followd by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The rate of microwave cure at 200 300 and 500 W was found to be almost similar to the thermal cure at 69, 78 and 88(±1) °C respectively. The microwave cure at 500 W shows a limiting conversion at 78%.