Ciba R&D Team Awarded for Breakthrough Photoinitiator
Chief Technology Officer Martin Riediker commented, “This work is of fundamental significance for our scientific understanding of phosphorus chemistry, and it gives Ciba Specialty Chemicals a sustainable advantage in producing phosphorus-based photoinitiators. These products are particularly suited for photo-induced curing of thick and pigmented coatings as well as clearcoats for outdoor applications containing light stabilizers.”
The key advance involves reacting a phosphorus-derived starting material with sodium metal, which significantly improves on earlier methods by simplifying the process and increasing yield. The team has showed that the synthesis is both safe and robust, allowing dosage and temperature control of all process steps.