Practical microwave curing studies for undergraduates

Microwave curing has recently generated interest as an alternative to the c onventional thermal curing of polymers. Advantages of the microwave process over the thermal method include faster curing times, improved efficiency o f curing, and enhanced properties of the polymers. This paper describes an undergraduate polymer chemistry experiment utilizing a domestic microwave o ven for the curing of methyl methacrylate. Thermal curing was also carried out as a comparative study. The percentage conversions at fixed time interv als using both processes were determined using FTIR spectroscopy. Results s how that the percentage conversion using the thermal method increased slowl y over the 18 min reaction time. However, there was a significant increase in the rare of polymerization at the end the same reaction period using the microwave method, equivalent to 3.5 times that of the thermal method. This experiment successfully demonstrates that microwave method is nor only a s afe hut also a reliable and faster alternative to the thermal method of cur ing some polymers. (C) 1999 Society of Chemical Industry.