Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol.33, No.11, 1867-1871, 1995
Wavelength Effect on the Photoinduced Reaction of Polymethylmethacrylate
Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) containing benzophenone (BP) was photo-irradiated with monochromatic radiation of wavelength 260-360 nm using the Okazaki Large Spectrograph (OLS). On irradiation of PMMA films containing BP in air, the sensitized main-chain scission and photocrosslinking of PMMA took place simultaneously. These reactions are dependent on irradiation wavelength. The threshold wavelength for both reactions is found to be ca. 380 nm. The number of main-chain scission and amount of gel increased with the increase of BP concentration in PMMA. Photosensitized main-chain scission favors the irradiation of radiation at ca. 280 nm and photocrosslinking takes place efficiently with the exposure of 340 nm radiation. A possible mechanism for photosensitized reaction is proposed.