A procedure for the production of N-heterocyclic carbene鈥揵oryl radicals (NHC-BH2鈥?/sup>) upon visible light irradiation under soft conditions is presented. New acridine orange (dye)/diphenyl disulfide/NHC鈥揃H3 and dye/sulfonium salt/NHC鈥揃H3 three-component initiating systems are introduced for the efficient visible light photopolymerization of trimethylolpropane triacrylate. The new systems could be extendend to polymerization reactions in water (hydroxyethyl acrylate and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate), which proceeded with strongly improved polydispersity. The chemical mechanisms are investigated through EPR and photolysis experiments.