High-efficiency pentafluorostilbene-based photocatalysts dedicated to preparing fluorescent 3D printed polymer nanocomposites

Abstract

The following manuscript describes 10 newly synthesised pentafluorostilbene derivatives that are diverse in the character of the substituent attached to the second phenyl ring, as well as in the substitution site. The compounds were investigated for their applicability as iodonium salt photosensitisers for initiating cationic, radical and hybrid photopolymerisation. For this purpose, various spectroscopic studies were performed, such as absorbance and fluorescence quenching experiments. For kinetic research, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (real-time FT-IR) was utilised, which enabled analysis of the performance of the investigated two-component photoinitiating systems in real time. According to a variety of kinetic studies, the most effective initiator system was selected and applied for application studies in the subsequent stage, namely the preparation of photocurable polymer nanocomposites using light-initiated 3D printing technology (DLP–Digital Light Processing). The most effective two-component initiating system was tested in seven different photo-curable resins by thermogravimetry (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to demonstrate its applicability in 3D printing of nanocomposites.