Light-Induced Orthogonal Reactivity of Photoinitiators from One-Electron Reduction to Nanocomposites.

Photoinitiators for radical polymerization have been well established. This minireview indicates a palette of applications beyond their original scope. Depending on the experimental conditions, the primary radicals generated upon photolysis act as reducing agents for metal salts. This opens new possibilities for using photoinitiators as versatile and convenient tools for the preparation of metal/polymer nanocomposites.