# Light‐Induced Orthogonal Reactivity of Photoinitiators from One‐Electron Reduction to Nanocomposites

## TL;DR

This paper explores new uses for photoinitiators beyond polymerization, showing how they can create metal/polymer nanocomposites through light-induced reactions.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel method using photoinitiators to generate metal/polymer nanocomposites via one-electron reduction.

## Key findings

- Photoinitiators can act as reducing agents for metal salts under specific conditions.
- Light-induced reactions produce plasmonic polymer-metal nanocomposites in alcoholic or aqueous solutions.

## Abstract

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.

Irradiating a mixture of a photoinitiator, a metal salt, and a monomer in an alcoholic solvent or aqueous solution provides a plasmonic polymer‐metal nanocomposite in a highly convenient way.