Diaryliodonium salt catalysts made from iodotoluene and a method for preparing them

Abstract

Diaryliodonium salts are disclosed, as well as a method for preparing them, in which one of the aryl groups bonded to the positively-charged iodine ion contains a methyl substituent, and the other one contains a hydroxyl-substituted alkoxy group. The salts are synthesized from (o, m, or p)-iodotoluene, as opposed to iodobenzene, and therefore do not pose a carcinogenic risk. In addition, the present salts are unexpectedly more soluble in most organic solvents, as well as in nonpolar monomers, than the corresponding benzene catalysts. The salts are useful as cationic photoinitiators, cationic thermal initiators (often combined with a cocatalyst, e.g. copper), and as starting materials in the synthesis of urethane-containing iodonium salts.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.