Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Thioxanthone as One-Component Type II Photoinitiator for Free Radical Polymerization in Organic and Aqueous Media

High-Performance Photoinitiating Systems for LED-Induced Photopolymerization

Currently, increasing attention has been focused on light-emitting diodes (LEDs)-induced photopolymerization. The common LEDs (e.g., LED at 365 nm and LED at 405 nm) possess narrow emission bands. Due to their light absorption properties, most commercial photoinitiators are sensitive to UV light and cannot be optimally activated under visible LED irradiation. Although many photoinitiators have been designed for LED-induced free radical polymerization and cationic polymerization, there is still the issue of the mating between photoinitiators and LEDs. Therefore, the development of novel photoinitiators, which could be applied under LED irradiation, is significant. Many photoinitiating systems have been reported in the past decade. In this review, some recently developed photoinitiators used in LED-induced photopolymerization, mainly in the past 5 years, are summarized and categorized as Type Ⅰ photoinitiators, Type Ⅱ photoinitiators, and dye-based photoinitiating systems. In addition, their light absorption properties and photoinitiation efficiencies are discussed.

Cyclopolymerizable and cyclopolymeric photoinitiators from diallyl amine and α-hydroxy ketones

Two novel cyclopolymerizable and one cyclopolymeric (first in the literature) PIs with high reactivity, controllable water solubility, migration stability and high thermal stability were synthesized by attachment of diallyl amine to I2959 or I184.

Protein and Polysaccharide-Based Electroactive and Conductive Materials for Biomedical Applications

Electrically responsive biomaterials are an important and emerging technology in the fields of biomedical and material sciences. A great deal of research explores the integral role of electrical conduction in normal and diseased cell biology, and material scientists are focusing an even greater amount of attention on natural and hybrid materials as sources of biomaterials which can mimic the properties of cells. This review establishes a summary of those efforts for the latter group, detailing the current materials, theories, methods, and applications of electrically conductive biomaterials fabricated from protein polymers and polysaccharides. These materials can be used to improve human life through novel drug delivery, tissue regeneration, and biosensing technologies. The immediate goal of this review is to establish fabrication methods for protein and polysaccharide-based materials that are biocompatible and feature modular electrical properties. Ideally, these materials will be inexpensive to make with salable production strategies, in addition to being both renewable and biocompatible.

Role of External Field in Polymerization: Mechanism and Kinetics

The past decades have witnessed an increasing interest in developing advanced polymerization techniques subjected to external fields. Various physical modulations, such as temperature, light, electricity, magnetic field, ultrasound, and microwave irradiation, are noninvasive means, having superb but distinct abilities to regulate polymerizations in terms of process intensification and spatial and temporal controls. Gas as an emerging regulator plays a distinctive role in controlling polymerization and resembles a physical regulator in some cases. This review provides a systematic overview of seven types of external-field-regulated polymerizations, ranging from chain-growth to step-growth polymerization. A detailed account of the relevant mechanism and kinetics is provided to better understand the role of each external field in polymerization. In addition, given the crucial role of modeling and simulation in mechanisms and kinetics investigation, an overview of model construction and typical numerical methods used in this field as well as highlights of the interaction between experiment and simulation toward kinetics in the existing systems are given. At the end, limitations and future perspectives for this field are critically discussed. This state-of-the-art research progress not only provides the fundamental principles underlying external-field-regulated polymerizations but also stimulates new development of advanced polymerization methods.

A supramolecular polymeric photoinitiator with enhanced dispersion in photo-curing systems

A simple and general approach to make the commercial photoinitiator water-soluble and polymeric was developed via supramolecular interactions, which is believed to find wide potential applications in the photo-curing technology.

One-component rapid Norrish Type II photoinitiation of bulk photo-CuAAC polymer networks

A one-component photoinitiation scheme was devised utilizing amine-centered trialkyne monomers for the formation of bulk photo-CuAAC polymer networks. The novel monomers maintain rapid polymerization kinetics and allow for tuning of the T_g.

Surface-Selective Grafting of Crosslinking Layers on Hydrogel Surfaces via Two Different Mechanisms of Photopolymerization for Site-Controllable Release

This study reports an effective method for controlling substance-release sites of hydrogel. Glycidyl methacrylate, which contains two functional groups, namely, double-bond acrylate and epoxide, is photografted on a hydrogel surface through hydrogen abstraction photopolymerization due to the existence of a hydrogen donor, such as an amine, in the hydrogel matrix. The remaining epoxide group crosslinks the polymer chain of polyglycidyl methacrylate. Substance release of hydrogel is changed due to the altered surface texture of hydrogel. Rate and site-controlled substance release are achieved by controlling the thickness and site of surface grafting and the extent of epoxide ring opening. This study may provide a novel method for achieving hydrogel function or modified performance of other biomaterials to meet biological activity requirements.

Photoinduced metal-free atom transfer radical polymerizations: state-of-the-art, mechanistic aspects and applications

Photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization has recently been the center of intensive research in synthetic polymer chemistry because of the unique possibility of topological and temporal control in addition to precise control of macromolecular structure offered by conventional ATRP.

Photocatalytic decarboxylation of diacids for the initiation of free radical polymerization

Photopolymerization, which is one of the most attractive polymerization methods, has been recently studied for the development of new photoinitiators. Herein, we use a binary mixture of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles and carboxylic diacid as a novel photoinitiator to initiate the free radical polymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc). The polymerization of VAc is achieved both in aqueous medium and bulk. The initiation mechanism of TiO₂/diacids is studied via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy using ¹³C labeled diacids as probing molecules. Further, a universal reaction mechanism is established, where the polymerization of VAc is initiated by the HOOC-R˙ radical, which is generated from the photocatalytic decarboxylation of the diacid. The polymerization kinetics results indicate that the polymerization rate is strongly dependant on the diacid structure. Compared to the use of diacids with an odd number of carbons, it is found that using diacids with an even number of carbons results in the polymerization rate reaching the maximum value faster.

Conventional Type II photoinitiators as activators for photoinduced metal-free atom transfer radical polymerization

A novel methodology for photoinduced metal-free Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) by using conventional Type II photoinitiators such as benzophenone, thioxanthone, isopropyl thioxanthone and camphorquinone as sensitizers is presented.

Studies of the binding mode of TXNHCH2COOH with calf thymus DNA by spectroscopic methods

In this study, a thioxanthone derivative named 2-(9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-2ylamino) acetic acid (TX-NHCH2COOH) was used to investigate small molecule and DNA binding interactions. Absorption and fluorescence emission spectroscopy were used and melting studies were used to explain the binding mode of TXNHCH2COOH-DNA. Intrinsic binding constant Kb TXNHCH2COOH was found 6×10(5)M(-1)from UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. Fluorescence emmision intensity increased by adding ct-DNA to the TXNHCH2COOH and KI quenching experiments resulted with low Ksv value. Additionally, 3.7°C increase for Tm was observed. The observed quenching of EB and ct-DNA complex and increase viscosity values of ct-DNA by addition of TXNHCH2COOH was determined. All those results indicate that TXNHCH2COOH can intercalate into DNA base pairs. Fluorescence microscopy helped to display imaging of the TXNHCH2COOH-DNA solution.

Photoinduced Electron Transfer Reactions for Macromolecular Syntheses

Photochemical reactions, particularly those involving photoinduced electron transfer processes, establish a substantial contribution to the modern synthetic chemistry, and the polymer community has been increasingly interested in exploiting and developing novel photochemical strategies. These reactions are efficiently utilized in almost every aspect of macromolecular architecture synthesis, involving initiation, control of the reaction kinetics and molecular structures, functionalization, and decoration, etc. Merging with polymerization techniques, photochemistry has opened up new intriguing and powerful avenues for macromolecular synthesis. Construction of various polymers with incredibly complex structures and specific control over the chain topology, as well as providing the opportunity to manipulate the reaction course through spatiotemporal control, are one of the unique abilities of such photochemical reactions. This review paper provides a comprehensive account of the fundamentals and applications of photoinduced electron transfer reactions in polymer synthesis. Besides traditional photopolymerization methods, namely free radical and cationic polymerizations, step-growth polymerizations involving electron transfer processes are included. In addition, controlled radical polymerization and "Click Chemistry" methods have significantly evolved over the last few decades allowing access to narrow molecular weight distributions, efficient regulation of the molecular weight and the monomer sequence and incredibly complex architectures, and polymer modifications and surface patterning are covered. Potential applications including synthesis of block and graft copolymers, polymer-metal nanocomposites, various hybrid materials and bioconjugates, and sequence defined polymers through photoinduced electron transfer reactions are also investigated in detail.

D–D–A dyes with phenothiazine–carbazole/triphenylamine as double donors in photopolymerization under 455 nm and 532 nm laser beams

In order to enhance electron-donating ability, four novel organic dyes (CPC, TPC, CPN and TPN) with double electron donors have been designed and synthesized.

Thioxanthone dicarboxamide derivatives as one-component photoinitiators for near-UV and visible LED (365–405 nm) induced photopolymerizations

A series of thioxanthone dicarboxamide derivatives containing hydrogen donors as one-component LED photoinitiators have been prepared.

Shining a light on an adaptable photoinitiator: advances in photopolymerizations initiated by thioxanthones

This review focuses on the advancements and progress in photoinitiated polymerization techniques mediated by thioxanthone (TX) and its derivatives.