Externally stimulated initiator systems for cationic polymerization

Abstract

Abstract At present, there is growing interest in polymerizations initiated by external stimulation, such as photoirradiation, heating or high energy irradiation. Since many industrially important monomers can only be polymerized by a cationic mechanism, much effort has been made to develop systems that produce initiating cations upon external stimulation. In this article, the latest developments in externally stimulated systems for cationic polymerization are reviewed. The goal is, furthermore, to show differences as well as parallels between systems for different modes of external stimulation.