Blue‐Light Activated Anthraimidazol‐Dione Photoinitiators for Efficient Free‐Radical Polymerization in the Context of Dental Material Applications

ABSTRACT Radical photopolymerization is a key technique in the production of advanced polymeric materials, including applications in 3D printing, photolithography, and regenerative medicine. Its efficiency strongly depends on the composition and concentration of the photoinitiating system. This study presents spectroscopic and kinetic investigations of radical polymerization initiated by two‐component systems comprising novel 1(3) H ‐anthra[1,2‐d]imidazol‐6,11‐dione derivatives as photosensitizers and acetic acid derivatives as electron‐donating co‐initiators, with potential application in dental materials. The objective was to evaluate how the chemical structure and concentration of the photosensitizer, as well as the type and concentration of the co‐initiator, influence polymerization efficiency. Raman spectroscopy was employed to monitor monomer conversion by analyzing changes in the intensity of characteristic CC vibrational bands, while microcalorimetry enabled determination of heat evolution during polymerization. The developed photosensitizers exhibited strong absorption in the blue‐light region emitted by dental curing lamps and demonstrated high photoinitiating efficiency, dependent on their concentration and comparable to that of commercial photoinitiator, camphorquinone. Notably, effective polymerization was achieved with a low photosensitizer content (0.03 wt%). These findings indicate that the proposed systems are promising candidates for innovative dental photopolymerizable materials.