Host/guest complex of Me-β-CD/2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenyl acetophenone for initiation of aqueous photopolymerization: Kinetics and mechanism

Methylated-β-cyclodextrin (Me-β-CD) was used to complex the photoinitiator, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenyl acetophenone (DMPA), yielding a water-soluble host/guest complex. The comparative studies demonstrated that the Me-β-CD complexed DMPA exhibited a high photoreactivity identical to the uncomplexed DMPA, while the CD complex obviously influenced the products of primary photolysis of DMPA and the photopolymerization kinetics due to the steric effect of CD on the subsequent initiation reactions. The photopolymerization rate of acrylamide can be described by the equation: R_p=K[2a]^0.62[M]^1.37[I]^0.5[Me-β-CD]⁰. The mechanism of polymerization was also discussed.