Factors affecting the TMPTA radical polymerization photoinitiated by phenyltrialkylborates paired with tri-cationic hemicyanine dye. Kinetic studies

This article introduces tri-cationic hemicyanine dye employed as a visible-light photoinitiator of acrylic monomers polymerization. This dye, in combination with borate anions, was found to be a very effective photoinitiating system. The kinetics of trimethylolpropane triacrylate polymerization was studied by a microcalorimetric method. The photoredox pair concentration, the co-initiator structure as well as the light intensity strongly affected the progress of the polymerization, leading, for example, to an increase in the polymerization rate and quantum yield of the process. The efficiency of these photoinitiators was discussed on the basis of the free energy change for electron transfer from a borate anion to an excited hemicyanine dye cation. The ∆Gel values were estimated for photoredox pairs containing a series of phenyltrialkylborate anions and one styrylpyridinium dye cation. The relationship between the rate of polymerization and the free energy of activation for electron transfer reaction gives the dependence predicted by the classical theory of electron transfer. The photoinitiating abilities of the selected novel photoredox pairs (BPB61, BPB7, BPB8, and BPB9) are comparable with the photoinitiating efficiency of commercially available photoinitiators.