Two- and three-photon processes in photoinitiators for 3D laser printing

Abstract The performance of a photoinitiator is key to control efficiency and resolution in 3D laser nanoprinting. Upon light absorption, a cascade of competing excited states and photoreactions leads to the radical formation that initiates free radical polymerization. Here we investigate 7-diethylamino-3-thenoylcoumarin (DETC), one of the most efficient photoinitiators for two-photon polymerization (TPP). Depending on the presence of a co-initiator, DETC causes radical generation either with two-photon or with a unique three-photon excitation, but the mechanism for these processes is not well understood. Here we show that the unique three-photon based radical formation of DETC in the absence of a co-initiator results from the excitation of special highly excited triplet states followed by multiple bond scission possibilities generating radicals. In contrast, photoinitiation in the presence of a co-initiator proceeds via intermolecular electron transfer or hydrogen atom transfer after the photosensitization of the photoinitiator to the lowest triplet excited state. Our quantum mechanical calculations explain the different pathways for the multiphoton activation mechanism of DETC and its radical formation, which enables the rational design of efficient photoinitiators to increase the speed and sensitivity of 3D laser nanoprinting.