Highly Sensitive ^|^alpha;-Acyloxymethacrylate Cross-linking Agents with High Curability in the Presence of Atmospheric Oxygen

Abstract

A highly sensitive photopolymerization system under atmospheric conditions are desired in industry, such as the field of printing plates widely used in commercial printing. We have developed a new series of α-acyloxymethacrylate cross-linking agents which exhibit an excellent curability even in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. Molecular orbital calculations indicate that the formation enthalpy of inhibition reaction by oxygen is much less favorable than that of polymerization for α-acyloxymethacrylate compared to conventional acrylates or methacrylates. The new cross-linking agents realized photopolymerizable printing plates without any oxygen barrier layer.