An oxygen-tolerant visible light induced free radical polymerization using mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride

Abstract

A novel oxygen-tolerant visible light photoinitiating system based on in-situ generation of Fenton reagents using mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-C3N4) in conjunction with FeCl3·6H2O, water and oxygen for free radical polymerization is described. A mpg-C3N4-catalysed photoinduced electron transfer reactions of water/oxygen and Fe3+ were demonstrated to enable generation of hydroxyl radicals that are capable of initiating the polymerization of mono and bifunctional monomers. The efficiency of the photoinitiation is controlled by specific surface area of the carbon nitride. Apparently, non-porous carbon nitrides did not yield polymers under the given conditions. Due to its heterogeneous nature, after the polymerization, although at lower rate, separated mpg-C3N4 could be used for further polymerizations.