Photoinitiated polymerization of methyl methacrylate with benzoin methyl ether. III. Independent photogeneration of the ether radical

Evidence is presented for initiation of MMA polymerization by the α-methoxybenzyl (ether) radical, photogenerated by H abstraction from benzyl methyl ether, utilizing benzophenone as the H-ab-stracting agent. The results support previous reports on the initiating ability of ether radical, photogenerated from ¹⁴C-labeled benzoin methyl ethers. Independent generation of one or both of the radicals derived from unsymmetrical initiators is more broadly applicable. The potential utility of this technique for providing insights into the photoefficiencies of commercially important photoinitiators, which produce initiator radicals by intramolecular bond cleavage, is discussed.