Optical fibers by butyl methacrylate reactive extrusion

Abstract : A process for a poly(butyl methacrylate) optical fibers production by reactive extrusion was developed. The reactive system was adapted to the reduced reaction time in the extruder combining concepts based on the free volume theory and a kinetic model for mass polymerization a butyl methacrylate. A kinetic model was proposed and the reaction evolution was simulated at different temperature and initiator concentration. This allowed the choice of reaction conditions in adequation with reactive extrusion technical limitations. Reactive extrusion experiments were carried out in a twin-screw extruder and the effect of the different kinetic and process conditions on the reaction were analyzed in relation with the residence time distribution measured by an UV fluorescence method. Some optical properties of poly(butyl methacrylate) fibres were reported.