•A novel photoinitiator contains side-chain benzophenone and main-chain ether.•Poly(ethylene glycol) segments in main-chain act as hydrogen donor.•This photoinitiator was very efficient without additional amines.A novel polymeric photoinitiator, poly(glycidyl benzophenone ether) (PGBE), with a side-chain benzophenone (BP) group was synthesized from poly(epichlorohydrin) and 4-hydroxybenzophenone. The structure of PGBE was characterized by IR and 1H NMR. The light absorption of PGBE was detected by UV spectrophotometer with the maximum absorption wavelength at 283 nm in acetonitrile solvent, which were red-shifted compared with BP. The obvious advantage of this initiator was the elimination of amine based hydrogen donors and to provide alternative hydrogen donors with easy availability and non-toxicity. The photopolymerizations of tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) initiated by PGBE and BP/EDAB were studied by real-time FT-IR. The polymeric initiator was found to have higher efficiency than BP/EDAB.

•Novel one-component polymeric benzophenone photoinitiator was synthesized.•This photoinitiator contained poly (ethylene glycol) as hydrogen donor.•This photoinitiator was the elimination of amine based hydrogen donors.Benzophenone (BP) is a common initiator which is often used in the UV-curing production and related fields. However, the shortcomings such as toxicity, odor, and migration always limit the development of the traditional BP photoinitiator. Polymeric benzophenone photoinitiator (PEG-BP) was synthesized basing on polyethylene glycol (PEG), succinic anhydride, 4-hydroxybenzophenone and epichlorohydrin. The structure of PEG-BP was characterized by IR and 1H NMR. The radiation absorption of PEG-BP was detected by UV spectrophotometer with the maximum absorption wavelength at 283 nm in acetonitrile solvent, undergone significant redshift corresponding to small molecule photoinitiator BP, thus enhanced the photosensitive efficiency of UV-curing system in the long wavelength region. Besides, PEG-BP has better water solubility than BP, thus could be used in both oil and aqueous solution. The obvious advantage of this initiator was the elimination of amine based hydrogen donors and to provide alternative hydrogen donors with easily availability and non-toxicity. The effects of molecular weights of PEG-BP, photoinitiator concentration, UV-radiation intensity and different monomers on photopolymerization kinetics were investigated in detail. The synthesized polymeric photoinitiators are attractive to be used as type II photoinitiators.

1,3-benzodioxole-5-yl-methyl-maleimide (BDOMM), a type of hydrogen-abstraction photoinitiator with both hydrogen donor and acceptor in one molecule for free radical photopolymerization, was synthesized through the reaction of piperonyl amine and maleic anhydride and characterized by IR, UV and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The results obtained indicated that the introduction of BDOMM could avoid the use of additional amine coinitiator, decrease the leachablity of photoinitiator and maintain high photo-initiation efficiency.

1,3-Dioxane diphenyl, a novel photoinitiator for free-radical polymerization, was synthesized and characterized. UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate its photochemical behavior during the photophysical process. The photopolymerization kinetics of 1,3-dioxane diphenyl was studied by realtime infrared spectroscopy. There was an optimum curing rate with the increase of 1,3-dioxane diphenyl concentration. Both the polymerization rate and final conversion increased with the increase in light intensity. 1,3-Dioxane diphenyl was the most efficient photoinitiator for tripropylene glycol diacrylate and other acrylate monomers. 1,3-Dioxane diphenyl was a more effective photoinitiator than benzophenone/ethyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate.

Synthetic, hydrolytically degradable biomaterials have been widely developed for biomedical use; however, most of them will form acidic products upon degradation of polymer backbone. In order to address this concern, we proposed to fabricate a biodegradable gel based on the crosslinking of a cyclic acetal monomer with reactable diallyl group and multifunctional thiols by thiol-ene photopolymerization. This gel produces diols and carbonyl end groups upon hydrolytic degradation and could be entirely devoid of acidic by-products. Real time infrared spectroscopy was employed to investigate the effect of different light intensities and concentrations of photoinitiator on the polymerization kinetics. With the increase of the concentration of photoinitiator and light intensity, both the rate of polymerization and final double bond conversion increased. Degradation of cyclic acetal based networks was investigated in PBS medium so as to simulate physiological conditions. The remaining mass of the materials after 25 days incubation was 84%. TGA analysis showed that the gels exhibited a typical weight loss (97.2%) at around 378 °C. In vitro cytotoxicity showed that the cyclic acetal based gels had non-toxicity to cell L-929 and had good biocompatibility.Highlights► The cyclic acetal monomer EHDA was prepared by an easy method. ► The cyclic acetal based gels were prepared by thiol-ene photopolymerization. ► This gel could completely avoid acidic degradation products. ► This gel had non-toxicity to cell L-929 and had good biocompatibility.

In this study a novel dimethacrylate based on adamantine (AB-GMA) was synthesized and proposed as possible dental monomers for dental resin mixtures. The monomer was prepared by the reaction of glycidyl methacrylate with dicarboxylic acid ester obtained from adamantanediol and maleic anhydride. The addition reaction of glycidyl methacrylate and the acidic compound was carried out in the presence of basic catalyst—tetraethylammonium bromide. AB-GMA was copolymerized with TEGDMA by varying the curing conditions: monomer composition, photoinitiator concentration and light intensity. A Real-time FTIR technique was employed to monitor the double bond conversion and the rate of polymerization. The prepared polymers were also subjected to dynamic mechanical studies (DMA). AB-GMA exhibited high degree of double bond conversion (up to 77%) and its thermo-mechanical properties were better than those of the commonly known dimethacrylates. AB-GMA showed no cytotoxicity toward growth of L929 cells and had good in vitro biocompatibility.Highlights► A novel dimethacrylate based on adamantine (AB-GMA) was synthesized. ► AB-GMA exhibited high degree of double bond conversion (up to 77%). ► AB-GMA had good thermo-mechanical properties. ► AB-GMA showed no cytotoxicity and had good in vitro biocompatibility.