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Novel synthesis technique wins Ciba Specialty Chemicals R&D Award 2006
Process improves safety, efficiency and environmental impact of photoinitiator production

17 Nov 2006 - An interdisciplinary team received the Ciba Specialty Chemicals R&D Award 2006 for developing a new synthesis technique that makes photoinitiator production safer, more efficient and environmentally more sustainable. The key advance involves reacting a phosphorus-derived starting material with sodium metal, which according to the company significantly improves on earlier methods by simplifying the process and increasing yield. The team has showed that the synthesis is both safe and robust, allowing dosage and temperature control of all process steps.
 
The award recipients are Souad Boulmaaz, Reinhard H. Sommerlade (project leader), Stephan Sutterlin and Thomas Ulrich of Process Development and Stephan Burkhardt, Peter Murer and Jean-Pierre Wolf of Research. Foundations for the project were laid in collaboration with a research team at ETH Zurich led by Professor Hansjoerg Gruetzmacher.
 
Chief Technology Officer Martin Riediker comments: "This work is of fundamental significance for our scientific understanding of phosphorus chemistry, and it gives Ciba Specialty Chemicals a sustainable advantage in producing phosphorus-based photoinitiators. These products are particularly suited for photoinduced curing of thick and pigmented coatings as well as clearcoats for outdoor applications containing light stabilizers."
 
Despite earlier experience suggesting that a sodium-based process would not work, the award-winning team used sodium to synthesize the main precursor of the photoinitiator Ciba® IRGACURE® 819. Routine production with the new technique began at Ciba Specialty Chemicals' Schweizerhalle plant in August 2006.