Refractive index increase of acrylate‐based polymers by adding soluble aromatic guest‐molecules

Abstract

This work presents the influence of dopants on viscosity in an uncured liquid state as well as on refractive index, Abbe number, optical loss, and glass transition temperature of different polymer compositions. The base material consists of Genomer 2263, a bisphenol, an epoxy diacrylate as matrix polymer, and benzyl methacrylate as comonomer. As dopants, the soluble aromatic guest‐molecules 9‐bromophenantrene and 9‐vinylcarbazole are investigated. The viscosity can be adjusted by different mixtures of the matrix polymer and comonomer from 3000 down to 4 mPa sec. Depending on the type and content of the dopants, the refractive index, Abbe number, and the glass transition temperature can be adjusted. The refractive indices increase linear at 589 nm and 20°C from 1.572 to 1.638 by doping, with Abbe numbers between 20 and 30. At this wavelength, the optical losses were determined to be around 2 dB · cm−1. The glass transition temperature can be tailored between 50 and 98°C. A way to use high amounts of optical dopants is presented, which opens up the way for different shaping technologies like inkjet printing of optical components. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.