7. Outlook

Photopolymers offer a high degree of processing flexibility and scalable physico-chemical properties, characteristics which, combined with moderate cost, make them the materials of choice for a wide range of industrial applications. UV technology also has the advantage of being more environmentally friendly than traditional thermal curing processes, since it reduces the emission of pollutants and consumes less energy. In view of its many advantages, this technology is set to continue developing at a steady pace in the years to come, thanks to the development of light-sensitive resins that are increasingly able to meet the specifications imposed for a given application, in terms of both reactivity and the properties of the polymer formed. Future research in this field should focus on a better understanding of the reaction mechanisms involved in photoinitiated cross-linking polymerization,...