Camphorquinone


Camphorquinone, also known as 2,3-bornanedione, is a photoinitiator used in curing dental composites.
Polymerization is induced very slowly by camphorquinone, so amines such as N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine, 2-ethyl-dimethylbenzoate, N-phenylglycine are generally added to increase the rate of curing.
It absorbs very weakly at 468 nm giving it a pale yellow color. Photoexcitation results in nearly quantitative formation of its triplet state through intersystem crossing and very faint fluorescence.
It can be hydrolyzed by the enzyme 6-oxocamphor hydrolase.