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Fluorescent Brighteners as Visible LED-Light Sensitive Photoinitiators for Free Radical Photopolymerizations
Xiaoling Zuo1,2, Fabrice Morlet-Savary1, Bernadette Graff1
1Institut de Science des Materiaux de Mulhouse IS2M, UMR CNRS 7361, UHA, 15, Rue Jean Starcky, 68057, Mulhouse Cedex, France.
Abstract:
The photochemical and electrochemical investigations of commercially available, safe, and cheap fluorescent brighteners, namely, triazinylstilbene (commercial name: fluorescent brightener 28) and 2,5-bis(5-tert-butyl-benzoxazol-2-yl)thiophene, as well as their original use as photoinitiators of polymerization upon light emitting diode (LED) irradiation are reported. Remarkably, their excellent near-UV-visible absorption properties combined with outstanding fluorescent properties allow them to act as high-performance photoinitiators when used in combination with diaryliodonium salt. These two-component photoinitiating systems can be employed for free radical polymerizations of acrylate. In addition, this brightener-initiated photopolymerization is able to overcome oxygen inhibition even upon irradiation with low LED light intensity. The underlying photochemical mechanisms are investigated by electron-spin resonance-spin trapping, fluorescence, cyclic voltammetry, and steady-state photolysis techniques.
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