Photopolymerization of N-vinylcarbazole using visible light harvesting iridium complexes as photoinitiators

摘要

A number of organometallic compounds (for example ruthenium and iridium complexes) have been used to photoinitiate polymerisation processes with very soft irradiation, LEDs and green fluorescent bulbs. These photocatalysts can either act via an oxidative catalysis cycle to produce ions that initiate a ring opening epoxide polymerisation (via a silylium ion from a photocatalyst/iodonium salt/silane initiator system) or via reductive cycle to produce radicals that can initiate a free radical polymerisation.