Oligomeric Photocatalysts in Photoredox Catalysis: Toward High Performance and Low Migration Polymerization Photoinitiating Systems

In the present paper, four fluorescent materials currently used in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are presented in an original way as high performance photocatalysts usable in polymerization photoinitiating systems. Their performance is excellent in free radical polymerization, cationic polymerization but also in the synthesis of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs). A coherent picture of the chemical mechanisms involved in these new photo catalytic systems is provided. Remarkably, an oligomeric and copolymerizable photocatalyst (PVD2) is proposed here for the first time, i.e., both the high molecular weight of PVD2 and the presence of reactive double bonds as end groups (which could be involved in a copolymerization reaction) ensure a very low migration of the catalyst from the synthesized polymer.