IR-Photopolymerization in Dispersed Media – IR-Emulsion

The aim of the project is to use for the first time Infra-Red light – in the Near IR (NIR) – to initiate photopolymerizations in dispersed media (emulsion and dispersion). The combination of the advantages of both dispersed media polymerizations and photo-polymerizations is powerful because the polymerizations could be carried out at room temperature or below, with minor risk of colloidal destabilization. Using an external light source also provides an external handle to control the polymerizations. The use of IR would side-step the limitations induced on shorter wavelengths by the light scattering caused by the nanoparticles formed, or by the direct absorption of the latter photons by the polymerization components (e. g. hybrid latexes containing UV-absorbing oxides or pigments). We will examine both linear IR absorption and multiphoton absorption, which provide complementary mechanisms for initiation.