Zinc Tetraphenylporphyrin as High Performance Visible Light Photoinitiator of Cationic Photosensitive Resins for LED Projector 3D Printing Applications

Zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) is proposed as a high performance visible light photoinitiator for both the free radical polymerization (FRP) of methacrylates (thick films) and the cationic polymerization (CP) of epoxides (thin films) upon visible light exposure using light emitting diodes (LEDs) at 405, 455, 477, and 530 nm. ZnTPP combined with an iodonium salt shows excellent polymerization initiating abilities and high final conversions were obtained. Remarkably, for the ligand alone (tetraphenylporphyrin derivative, H2TPMP) used as photoinitiator, no polymerization occurs, indicating the importance of the metal in the initiating complex for an efficient process. A full picture of the involved chemical mechanisms is given. The high performance of ZnTPP as cationic initiating system is also well shown for new cationic 3D printing resins upon exposure to LED projector at 405 nm.