Reactivity of oxetane monomers in photoinitiated cationic polymerization

Studies of the onium salt photoinitiated cationic ring-opening polymerizations of various 3,3-disubstituted oxetane monomers have been conducted with realtime infrared spectroscopy and optical pyrometry. The polymerizations of these monomers are typified by an extended induction period that has been attributed to the presence of a long-lived tertiary oxonium ion intermediate formed by the reaction of the initially formed secondary oxonium ion with the cyclic ether monomer. Because the extended induction period in the photopolymerization of these monomers renders oxetane monomers of limited value for many applications, methods have been sought for its minimization or elimination. Three general methods have been found effective in markedly shortening the induction period: (1) carrying out the photopolymerizations at higher temperatures, (2) copolymerizing with more reactive epoxide monomers, and (3) using free-radical photoinitiators as synergists. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.