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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mater.
Sec. Polymeric and Composite Materials
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmats.2024.1490070
This article is part of the Research Topic Photoinduced Reactions Leading to Polymeric and Composite Materials View all articles

Phenacyl Bromide as Norrish Type I Photoinitiator for the Facile Synthesis of Chain-End Functional PMMA and Polystyrene

Provisionally accepted
Mina Kati Mina Kati Yusra B. Cakir Yusra B. Cakir Kerem Kaya Kerem Kaya Huseyin C. Kiliclar Huseyin C. Kiliclar Baris Kiskan Baris Kiskan *
  • Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Türkiye

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Phenacyl bromide has been explored as a new Norrish Type I photoinitiator for radically polymerizing methyl methacrylate and styrene monomers. A straightforward radical photopolymerization method using UVA light for the synthesis of chain-end functional poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene has been developed. The process has been refined for both bulk and solution photopolymerizations. Chain-end functionalization was demonstrated by the formation of block-copolymers of the bromineended homopolymers, utilized as macroinitiators, resulting in an increase in the molecular weight of the corresponding precursor, observed by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). Block copolymerization was initiated by radicals generated at the chain-ends by a halogen-atom transfer reagent, namely, dimanganese decacarbonyl (Mn2(CO)10). This simple light-induced method is promising for the additive manufacturing field such as vat photopolymerization, stereolithography, digital light processing as it yields chain-end functional materials that can be further processed.

    Keywords: free radical photopolymerization, Norrish Type I photoinitator, Phenacyl bromide, Chainend functionalization, Halogen abstraction, block copolymerization

    Received: 02 Sep 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kati, Cakir, Kaya, Kiliclar and Kiskan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Baris Kiskan, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Türkiye

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