Photoinitiated cationic polymerization of epoxy alcohol monomers

A series of epoxy alcohols were prepared by simple, straightforward methods. These compounds were very reactive monomers that polymerized rapidly on UV irradiation in the presence of cationic photoinitiators. The kinetics of the cationic photopolymerization of these monomers were studied with diaryliodonium salt photoinitiators and real-time IR spectroscopy. The rate of epoxide ring-opening polymerization was enhanced markedly by the presence of the hydroxy group. Using model compounds, the monomers were shown to polymerize via an activated monomer mechanism. Simple epoxy alcohols polymerized to give polymers with a hyperbranched structure. The novel monomers also were observed to accelerate the rate of the photopolymerization of mono- and multifunctional epoxides.