A new photoclick reaction strategy: photo-induced catalysis of the thiol-Michael addition via a caged primary amineElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3cc41123k

The utilization of 2-(2-nitrophenyl)propyloxycarbonyl (NPPOC) as a photolabile primary amine cage enables the thiol-Michael 'click' reaction to be photo-triggered. The photolabile amine exhibits efficient catalytic activity upon UV irradiation and is shown to initiate the photopolymerization of tetrathiol and diacrylate comonomers via Michael addition. Photo-triggered thiol-Michael addition reaction using NPPOC-hexylamine as a catalyst.