In the wonderful world of chemical materials, there is a magical substance called photoinitiator 938. It belongs to the family of iodonium hexafluorophosphate and is an important member of the cationic photoinitiator. Unlike other similar substances, 938 is specially designed for non-silicon applications. Just like the cationic UV curable inks that we commonly see in industrial production, its appearance has greatly accelerated the curing speed, bringing a qualitative leap in production efficiency.
938 appears as a crystalline powder. This unique physical form gives it excellent adhesion properties, especially on metal substrates, where it seems to have a magical “adhesive power”. 938 also shows impressive advantages in the application of transparent coatings and films – low yellowing. This characteristic does not appear by chance, but involves complex chemical principles. When coatings and films are used for a long time or exposed to certain environments, many materials will turn yellow due to oxidation, light and other factors, which seriously affects the appearance and quality of the product. The low yellowing effect of 938 is like a “protective coat” for these products, allowing them to maintain a good appearance despite the test of time.

In addition, 938 has a very wide range of applications. It performs excellently in curing alicyclic epoxy resins, vinyl ethers, glycidyl ethers, oxetanes, epoxides, and other cationic curing materials. This is due to its unique chemical structure, which can react with the molecules in these materials to achieve efficient curing.

It is worth mentioning that the maximum absorption wavelength of 938 is 241nm, which is crucial for its application in UV-curable formulations and LED-curable formulations. In practical applications, when it is added to these formulations at a concentration of 0.5 – 5 wt%, it exhibits high reactivity and solubility in cationic systems. It is like a perfect “chemical team”, where each member (938 molecule) performs optimally at the right concentration. From a chemical kinetic point of view, this concentration range ensures that the reaction can proceed quickly and fully, without problems such as over-reaction or precipitation due to too high a concentration, or slow reaction and incomplete curing due to too low a concentration.

We can further understand the importance of 938 from the historical development of materials. In early industrial production, the development of UV curing technology was greatly limited by the lack of efficient photoinitiators such as 938. For example, in the printing industry, the slow curing speed of inks not only affected production efficiency, but also led to unstable print quality. The advent of 938 was like a “revolution” for the industry, significantly improving both the quality and production speed of printed materials.