Light-curing materials have a wide range of applications and a high degree of industry concentration

Light-curing molding technology refers to the polymerization and cross-linking curing reaction between low-molecular prepolymers or oligomers and monomer molecules used as reactive diluents under the action of laser, ultraviolet light and other light sources. Light-curing materials refer to composite materials made using light-curing molding technology. Compared with heat-curing materials, light-curing materials have the advantages of excellent comprehensive performance, energy saving, and environmental protection, and are widely used in automobile parts, household appliances, medical equipment and other fields.

According to the “2022-2027 China Light Curing Materials Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Photocurable materials are composed of prepolymers, modifiers, photoinitiators, reactive diluents, fillers, and stabilizers. The core raw material of photocurable materials is photoinitiator, which accounts for nearly 20.0% of its production cost. Photoinitiators are usually made from thiol compounds. Driven by market demand, my country’s photoinitiator output has maintained a steady growth trend. In 2021, my country’s photoinitiator output reached 39,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.3%. Benefiting from the sufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s light-curing material production capacity continues to expand, and the industry has gradually entered a stage of rapid development.

Light-curing materials are widely used in a wide range of applications, including medical devices, household appliances, automotive electronics, etc. In the field of medical devices, light-curing materials have the characteristics of good chemical stability and good processability, and can be used as denture base materials. Compared with traditional denture base materials, light-curing materials omit heat treatment, glue filling, wax removal and other links in the production process, and have more advantages in production efficiency, dimensional accuracy, denture color and other aspects. In addition, light-curing materials can also be used to make medical devices such as blood oxygenators, anesthesia masks, and endoscopes.

The main products of light-curing materials include photoresist, light-curing coatings, light-curing adhesives, UV light-curing inks, etc. Light-curing coatings, also known as photosensitive coatings, are new coatings with the advantages of low volatile content, short curing time, green environmental protection, and low curing temperature. Light-curing coatings are generally divided into two types: UV-curing water-based coatings and UV-curing powder coatings. UV curing water-based coatings are mainly used for surface curing of three-dimensional objects; UV curing powder coatings are used for coating heat-sensitive substrates.

my country’s light-curing material industry is highly concentrated, with traditional leading companies occupying a major share of the market and new entrants facing high market entry barriers. Sanmu Group, Litian Technology, Changxing Chemical, etc. are the main manufacturers of light-curing materials in my country.

Industry analysts said that light-curing materials have the advantages of high production efficiency, good chemical stability, wear resistance, and environmental protection. They are widely used in many industries. High-tech fields are widely used. As market demand is gradually released, the development trend of the light-curing material industry will continue to improve in the future. In recent years, my country’s fine chemical industry has developed rapidly, driving the prosperity of the light-curing materials industry to continue to increase.