The discovery of compounds which efficiently generate acids with high quantum yields upon irradiation by UV or visible light have made possible the development of several new and commercially important technologies. These photoinitiators are generally...
The discovery of compounds which efficiently generate acids with high quantum yields upon irradiation by UV or visible light have made possible the development of several new and commercially important technologies. These photoinitiators are generally thermally stable and do not undergo thermally induced reactions with the monomers. Moreover, the photo reaction should occur with high quantum efficiency and without the simultaneous liberation of by-products, which may inhibit or retard the polymerization. Whilst these are the properties of an ideal cationic photoinitiator, in practice a photoinitiator will never totally fulfil all of these requirements. In this study, I synthesized Methyl(2-oxocyclohexyl)phenylsulfonium salts to develop the photoinitiators which can react with high quantum efficiency in the region around 250~280nm. The chemical structure and characteristics of synthesized photoinitiators were confirmed by using instrumental analysis such as NMR, DSC, UV spectrometer. The activity of the initiators was evaluated in the bulk polymerization of vinyl ether and epoxy monomers. It was confirmed that the newly synthesized photoinitiators worked effectively to polymerize an epoxy monomer smoothly. Although currently of less commercial importance than light induced radical polymerization, the field of cationic curing has found growing interest as a valuable alternative to the acrylate technology. It offers unique advantages to the end user. The recent developments of new cationic photoinitiators as well as of new, highly reactive monomers allow reactivity performances which approach those of radical curing systems. Further developments of both the photoinitiators and the resins are expected to continue at a fast pace, stimulated by the need for new tailor-made solutions to best meet new and existing industrial requirements. Light induced cationic photopolymerization can, thus, be expected to find further widespread use in the future.