Cationic photopolymerization of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether epoxy under 385 nm

ABSTRACT The cationic photopolymerization of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether epoxy (DGEBA) at λ = 385 nm was conducted by the combination of a cationic photoinitiator PAG30201 (Bis (4‐isobutylphenyl) iodonium hexafluorophosphate) and a photosensitizer PSS303 (9,10‐dibutoxy‐9,10‐dihydroanthrance). The kinetic characterization was investigated by real‐time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The enhancement of epoxy conversion of DGEBA was achieved by increasing temperature, adding alcohols, active monomers and radical photoinitiators. As a result, in the presence of 2 wt % PAG30201 and 1.2 wt % PSS303, the epoxy rings conversion of DGEBA has reached to more than 70% from 55.9% at room temperature; it could be increased to almost 80% if heated to 60°C. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3698–3703, 2013