Recent advances on naphthoquinone-based photoinitiators of polymerization

Photoinitiating systems activable under visible light are the focus of numerous studies, and this interest is directly related to the higher light penetration that can be obtained in this spectral range. Reactivity of the photoinitiating systems is another major concern of photopolymerists and this issue can be addressed by investigating new structures of dyes. In this field, naphthoquinones have only been scarcely examined as visible light photoinitiators of polymerization. Besides, since 2015, different strategies have been developed to design photoinitiators with naphthoquinone, and promising results have been obtained, positively paving the way for future developments. In this review, an overview of the different photoinitiators comprising a naphthoquinone unit is given and polymerization efficiencies of these new structures are compared to those of reference compounds.

Automated summary

Photoinitiating systems activable under visible light are the subject of many studies due to their ability to achieve higher light penetration. The reactivity of these systems can be improved by investigating new dye structures, including naphthoquinones which have been underexplored as visible light photoinitiators of polymerization. Recent developments have shown promising results in designing photoinitiators with naphthoquinone, paving the way for future advancements. This review provides an overview of different photoinitiators containing a naphthoquinone unit and compares their polymerization efficiencies with reference compounds.