Effect of the sulfide group on photopolymerization kinetics of di(meth)acrylates

The photopolymerization of four analogous monomers: 2,2'-thiobisethanol diacrylate and its dimethacrylate plus 2,2'-oxybisethanol diacrylate and its dimethacrylate has been studied by isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) over a range of incident light intensities. The results obtained prove that the sulfide group accelerates polymerization both in the presence and absence of oxygen and enhances the conversion. The light intensity exponents for each monomer were determined and the mechanism of termination was discussed. The intensity exponents of sulfur-containing monomers are lower than their corresponding oxygen analogues, pointing to a greater participation of the bimolecular termination during their polymerization.