Photoacoustic Spectroscopy for Curing Time Determination of an Acrylic Nanocomposite

Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) has been widely used as a nondestructive and sensitive analytical technique used to determine the thermal diffusivity, effusivity and heat capacity of different materials. In this work, the open cell photoacoustic technique (OPC) technique was used for the kinematic study of heat transfer processes as a function of time for curing nanoresin composites. An exponential growth of the signal during the process of curing was observed. The nanoresin was based on silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) that were synthesized using a green method from an aqueous extract of Capsicum annuum var annuum as an Ag reducer and an acrylic resin. It was cured using a violet laser beam with a wavelength of 405 nm with an average power of 120 mW. The characteristic curing time was measured as a function AgNPs concentration of 0.0, 5.16, 7.27, 11.85, 14.50, 16.86 and 20.96 × 10⁻⁴ vol%. The results showed an increase in the curing time of composite resin containing the AgNPs compared to the pure resin. This study has applications in printing parts using laser stereolithography.