Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin
We explore the potential for using a brush-coil triblock copolymer to enhance the mechanical properties of epoxy resin for 3D printing applications. Epoxy resins are widely used in structural material and adhesive and have great potential for 3D printing. However, the highly brittle nature of epoxy...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Giant |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666542523000668 |
| _version_ | 1827311125344026624 |
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| author | Ri Chen Jizhe Cai Kyle C. H. Chin Sheng Wang Andrew J. Boydston Ramathasan Thevamaran Padma Gopalan |
| author_facet | Ri Chen Jizhe Cai Kyle C. H. Chin Sheng Wang Andrew J. Boydston Ramathasan Thevamaran Padma Gopalan |
| author_sort | Ri Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We explore the potential for using a brush-coil triblock copolymer to enhance the mechanical properties of epoxy resin for 3D printing applications. Epoxy resins are widely used in structural material and adhesive and have great potential for 3D printing. However, the highly brittle nature of epoxy resins requires the use of large concentrations of toughening agents that pose significant challenges in meeting rheological requirements of 3D printing. We report a reactive brush-coil block copolymer with three distinct blocks that can phase separate and chemically crosslink with the base epoxy resin to form spherical aggregates. Detailed scanning electron microscopy imaging shows that these aggregates can arrest and deflect cracks during propagation and can synergistically strengthen (∼ 1.5×) and toughen (∼ 2×) the epoxy resin with even 1 wt% of the BCP additive to the base resin. Importantly, both the modulus and the glass transition temperatures are preserved. Direct ink writing (DIW) and digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing of the modified resins also shows the same strengthening and toughening effects seen in mold-cast samples, demonstrating its compatibility with 3D printing processes. These findings suggest that brush-coil triblock copolymers additives at very low concentrations can synergistically improve the mechanical properties of epoxy resin for 3D printed parts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:15:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6a13590560954b9a97d91e2876d3b3fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:12:01Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Giant |
| spelling | doaj.art-6a13590560954b9a97d91e2876d3b3fa2024-03-23T06:26:01ZengElsevierGiant2666-54252024-03-0117100204Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resinRi Chen0Jizhe Cai1Kyle C. H. Chin2Sheng Wang3Andrew J. Boydston4Ramathasan Thevamaran5Padma Gopalan6Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United StatesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United StatesDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, United StatesDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United StatesDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States; Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, United States; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, United StatesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States; Corresponding authors.Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States; Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, United States; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, United States; Corresponding authors.We explore the potential for using a brush-coil triblock copolymer to enhance the mechanical properties of epoxy resin for 3D printing applications. Epoxy resins are widely used in structural material and adhesive and have great potential for 3D printing. However, the highly brittle nature of epoxy resins requires the use of large concentrations of toughening agents that pose significant challenges in meeting rheological requirements of 3D printing. We report a reactive brush-coil block copolymer with three distinct blocks that can phase separate and chemically crosslink with the base epoxy resin to form spherical aggregates. Detailed scanning electron microscopy imaging shows that these aggregates can arrest and deflect cracks during propagation and can synergistically strengthen (∼ 1.5×) and toughen (∼ 2×) the epoxy resin with even 1 wt% of the BCP additive to the base resin. Importantly, both the modulus and the glass transition temperatures are preserved. Direct ink writing (DIW) and digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing of the modified resins also shows the same strengthening and toughening effects seen in mold-cast samples, demonstrating its compatibility with 3D printing processes. These findings suggest that brush-coil triblock copolymers additives at very low concentrations can synergistically improve the mechanical properties of epoxy resin for 3D printed parts.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666542523000668Epoxy resin3D printingBlock copolymerSynergistic strength and toughness |
| spellingShingle | Ri Chen Jizhe Cai Kyle C. H. Chin Sheng Wang Andrew J. Boydston Ramathasan Thevamaran Padma Gopalan Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin Giant Epoxy resin 3D printing Block copolymer Synergistic strength and toughness |
| title | Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin |
| title_full | Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin |
| title_fullStr | Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin |
| title_short | Block copolymer additives for toughening 3D printable epoxy resin |
| title_sort | block copolymer additives for toughening 3d printable epoxy resin |
| topic | Epoxy resin 3D printing Block copolymer Synergistic strength and toughness |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666542523000668 |
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