Parts 1 and 2 of this series dealt with the chemistries of photoinitiators and formulations of UV cured systems containing such photoinitiators. Part 3 deals with some of the new products which are now on the market or are under active development by the major suppliers. Surprisingly there are still only a handful of companies which are actively researching and developing new chemistries in the photoinitiator area.
Possible explanations include:
1. current commercial photoinitiators, mostly patent free, satisfy most of today's market needs;
2. price reductions has meant much lower profit margins;
3. more companies offering comprehensive ranges of products that cover the most important known photointitiator chemistries;
4. the high cost of R&D with the corresponding high risks involved.
However, there are always exceptions!!
The first wave of photoinitiator activity occurred before 1980 and commercial success was very limited due to the slow production speeds possible with the then photoinitiators.