Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
28712 | Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry | 2008 | 5 Pages |
Photoinitiated free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in aqueous solution via hydrogen abstraction mechanism was described. For this purpose, thioxanthone (TX) chromophoric group was chemically incorporated into β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) by a simple esterification process. The resulting thioxanthone photoinitiator (TX–β-CD) exhibited similar spectral characteristics and photoactivity to that of the parent TX molecule. Host guest complexes of MMA with TX–β-CD in water, in the presence of N-methyldiethanol amine (NMDEA) as a hydrogen donor, facilitated photoinitiated free radical polymerization in aqueous medium. The postulated mechanism is based on the intermolecular reaction of photoexcited triplet TX moiety of TX–β-CD with NMDEA. The resulting amino alkyl radicals initiate the polymerization.