Choosing a Photoinitiator 

When choosing a new photoinitiator, formulators often begin by evaluating three criteria: performance, price, and availability.  Pricing and availability are straight-forward, but how do you characterize performance?  Solubility, photospeed, and color are not the only criteria to consider.  In addition, there are also toxic characteristics, both from the material itself, as well as residual breakdown products that need to be studied.  Does the photoinitiator impart unwanted color, or cause some other potential downstream problem?  These are all things that need to be carefully considered.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of commercialized products a researcher can choose from.  With proper chemical modelling, this list can quickly be reduced to a handful of possibilities.  Often, one of these “tried and true” products is found to be adequate, and the project moves forward.

On occasion, however, the ideal compound may not exist.  Depending on the size of the opportunity, a company may decide to synthesize the material themselves or seek out an experienced contract manufacturer to help fill the need.  Both concepts have merit.  For instance, by making the material yourself, you control the entire manufacturing and quality process.  While this may initially sound appealing, companies often struggle to meet production demands if photoinitiator synthesis is not their core competency.  In this case, one might seek out a scale-up partner, such as Hampford Research, to manufacture the material on their behalf.  This solution ensures supply continuity without having to shoulder the technical and regulatory burden associated with new compound development.  As the photoinitiator market continues to grow and change, HRI remains committed to supplying the industry with leading edge technology.

Let us know if you have a photoinitiator project you need development or scaleup help with.