Effects of C3‐aromatic heterocycles on 1,3,5‐triaryl‐2‐pyrazoline sulfonium salt photoacid generators as light‐emitting diode‐sensitive cationic photoinitiators

Abstract

Four 1,5‐diphenyl‐3‐aromatic heterocyclyl‐2‐pyrazoline‐based sulfonium salt photoacid generators (PAGs) with different aromatic heterocycles substituted on C3 atom and dimethyl sulfonium group on C5 atom were synthesized. These PAGs were highly photosensitive in the 365–425 nm light‐emitting diode region, and the intramolecular charge transfer from the pyrazoline ring to sulfonium salts induced efficient photolysis and high ΦH+. The heterocycles as well as their substituted positions significantly influenced the energy of the S2 orbital, which was determined by the electrochemical and absorption properties of the PAGs. The raising of the S2 orbital energy enlarged the energy gap of S0–S2 and S1–S2, resulting in blue shift of the absorption spectra and increase in the quantum yield of photoacid generation (ΦH+), respectively. When the energy of excited electrons was higher than that of the S2 orbital, the transition from S0 to S2 (π–π*) occurred before the C‐S cleavage on S1 and the PAGs showed high ΦH+ values (0.52–0.72). The transition from S0 to S1 (π–σ*) occurred when the energy of electrons is lower than that of the S2 orbital, and the PAGs showed low ΦH+ value. The photopolymerization kinetics demonstrated that these PAGs were highly efficient cationic photoinitiators.