Relative sensitization efficiency of fluorescent probes/sensitizers for monitoring and acceleration of cationic photopolymerization of monomers

The performance of a series of 1-amino-2,6-dicyano-3,5-diphenylbenzene derivatives (i.e., meta-terphenyls) as fluorescent molecular probes for monitoring cationic photopolymerization of monomers by the Fluorescence Probe Technique (FPT) was studied. It was found that the m-terphenyls accelerate the cationic photopolymerization initiated with diphenyliodonium photoinitiators at the wavelength where the photoinitiator alone does not work. Consequently, application of the m-terphenyls in a dual role: (a) as fluorescent probes for monitoring the cationic polymerization progress, and (b) as long-wavelength sensitizers for diphenyliodonium photoinitiators is proposed. Next, a precise method for determination of relative sensitization efficiency of the sensitizers has been devised and applied for evaluation of the performance of the m-terphenyl sensitizers in comparison to that of a commercial sensitizer: 2,4-diethyl-9H-thioxanthen-9-one.