Preparation and characterization of an amphiphilic macrophotoinitiator based on 2-hydroxyl-2-methyl-1-phenylpropanone

On the basis of 2-hydroxyl-2-methyl-1-phenylpropanone (HMPP) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), we prepared amphiphilic macrophotoinitiators (HMPP–PEG–HMPP) by first reacting HMPP with isophorone diisocyanate and subsequently reacting it with PEGs with different chain lengths. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, and 1 H-NMR were used to confirm the structure of the amphiphilic macrophotoinitiators. Ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectra showed that the amphiphilic macrophotoinitiators had maximum absorption wavelengths that were similar to those of the low-molecular-weight photoinitiator HMPP. The photolysis rate of the amphiphilic macrophotoinitiators was slightly lower than that of HMPP, but the migration rate of the amphiphilic macrophotoinitiators from a UV-cured matrix was much lower compared to that of HMPP. Because of their amphiphilic nature, these macrophotoinitiators may play roles as both photoinitiators and emulsifiers, and they have been applied to the solution polymerization of water-soluble monomer acrylamide in water and the emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43910.