1. Dental Restoration Materials
Serves as a photoinitiator for composite resins, adhesives, and similar materials, either as a standalone agent or blended with camphorquinone (CQ).
· Reduces Yellowing:
PPD’s inherent light color improves restoration aesthetics, making it particularly suitable for whitening dental restorations.
· Performance Enhancement:
Synergistic effects with CQ improve material mechanical properties (e.g., tensile strength) while reducing solubility. Some studies suggest it may enhance polymer network crosslinking.
· Light Absorption Characteristics:
Its maximum absorption wavelength lies around 393–400 nm, at the UV-visible transition zone (violet region). Thus, light-curing lamps must emit corresponding wavelengths, or it should be paired with CQ (which absorbs blue light) to achieve broader spectral initiation.

2. Photopolymerization of Other Polymeric Materials
As a potential photoinitiator for light-curable coatings, inks, and similar applications.
As an α-diketone photoinitiator, PPD typically requires co-initiation with amine co-initiators (e.g., EDAB, DMAEMA) and belongs to the Type II initiator category. Its photolysis generates light-absorbing byproducts, making the selection of amine co-initiators critical for its efficiency.

3. Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
· Serves as a synthetic precursor for pharmaceutical intermediates or food additives.
· Its derivatives (e.g., PPDOT) function as chelating agents in chemical analysis for detecting metal ions like copper and silver. In chemical synthesis, PPD acts as a precursor for chiral synthesis, such as preparing chiral compounds via asymmetric hydrogenation reactions.