The compounds 2‐thioxanthone‐thioacetic acid and 2‐(carboxymethoxy)thioxanthone, bimolecular photoinitiators for free radical polymerization, are synthesized and characterized. Their capability to act as initiators for the polymerization of methyl methacrylate was examined. The postulated mechanism is based on the intermolecular electron‐transfer reaction of the excited photoinitiator with the sulfur or oxygen atom of the ground state of the respective photoinitiator followed by decarboxylation. The resulting alkyl radicals initiate the polymerization.Structures of the photoinitiators.magnified imageStructures of the photoinitiators.

A mechanistic study concerning photoinitiated free radical polymerization using thioxanthone thio-acetic acid (TX-S-CH 2-COOH) as one-component Type II photoinitiator was performed. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence and phosphorescence spectroscopy, as well as laser flash photolysis was employed to study the photophysics and photochemistry of TX-S-CH 2-COOH. The initiator undergoes efficient intersystem crossing into the triplet state and the lowest triplet state posseses π-π* configuration. In contrast to the unsubstituted thioxanthone, TX-S-CH 2-COOH shows an unusually short triplet lifetime (65 ns) indicating an intramolecular reaction. From fluoroscence, phosphorescence, and laser flash photolysis studies, in conjunction with photopolymerization experiments, we propose that TX-S-CH 2-COOH triplets undergo intramolecular electron transfer followed by hydrogen abstraction and decarboxylation producing alkyl radicals, which are the active initiator radicals in photoinduced polymerization. At low initiator concentrations (below 5 × 10 -3 M) this intramolecular reaction is the dominant path. At concentrations above 5 × 10 -3 M, however, the respective intermolecular reactions may be operative.

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A new photoinitiator for free radical photopolymerization, belonging to the thioxanthone derivatives, was synthesized and characterized. It was found that the compound absorbs over the whole UV–vis spectrum with relatively high absorption coefficients. Fluorescence studies reveal that three different singlet excited states are responsible for this absorption. Phosphorescence and laser flash photolysis evidence the formation of a triplet state from which a photoreduction can occur. Consequently, initiating radicals were formed which are able to initiate the photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate in DMF. Finally, the photopolymerization of acrylates was performed in film at different wavelengths such as 392, 476, 532, and 632 nm, emphasizing the possibility to use this novel photoinitiator when panchromatic irradiation is required.

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