Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks
As an energy-efficient additive manufacturing process, vat photopolymerization 3D-printing has become a convenient technology to fabricate functional devices with high resolution and freedom in design. However, due to their permanently crosslinked network structure, photopolymers are not easily repr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/24/5377 |
| _version_ | 1797455603539378176 |
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| author | Usman Shaukat Bernhard Sölle Elisabeth Rossegger Sravendra Rana Sandra Schlögl |
| author_facet | Usman Shaukat Bernhard Sölle Elisabeth Rossegger Sravendra Rana Sandra Schlögl |
| author_sort | Usman Shaukat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As an energy-efficient additive manufacturing process, vat photopolymerization 3D-printing has become a convenient technology to fabricate functional devices with high resolution and freedom in design. However, due to their permanently crosslinked network structure, photopolymers are not easily reprocessed or repaired. To improve the environmental footprint of 3D-printed objects, herein, we combine the dynamic nature of hydroxyl ester links, undergoing a catalyzed transesterification at elevated temperature, with an acrylate monomer derived from renewable resources. As a sustainable building block, we synthesized an acrylated linseed oil and mixed it with selected thiol crosslinkers. By careful selection of the transesterification catalyst, we obtained dynamic thiol-acrylate resins with a high cure rate and decent storage stability, which enabled the digital light processing (DLP) 3D-printing of objects with a structure size of 550 µm. Owing to their dynamic covalent bonds, the thiol-acrylate networks were able to relax 63% of their initial stress within 22 min at 180 °C and showed enhanced toughness after thermal annealing. We exploited the thermo-activated reflow of the dynamic networks to heal and re-shape the 3D-printed objects. The dynamic thiol-acrylate photopolymers also demonstrated promising healing, shape memory, and re-shaping properties, thus offering great potential for various industrial fields such as soft robotics and electronics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a36b81c73a5141c2a52f85d199d4f870 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-a36b81c73a5141c2a52f85d199d4f8702023-11-24T17:31:03ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-12-011424537710.3390/polym14245377Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building BlocksUsman Shaukat0Bernhard Sölle1Elisabeth Rossegger2Sravendra Rana3Sandra Schlögl4Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH, Roseggerstrasse 12, 8700 Leoben, AustriaPolymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH, Roseggerstrasse 12, 8700 Leoben, AustriaPolymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH, Roseggerstrasse 12, 8700 Leoben, AustriaSchool of Engineering, Energy Acres, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun 248007, IndiaPolymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH, Roseggerstrasse 12, 8700 Leoben, AustriaAs an energy-efficient additive manufacturing process, vat photopolymerization 3D-printing has become a convenient technology to fabricate functional devices with high resolution and freedom in design. However, due to their permanently crosslinked network structure, photopolymers are not easily reprocessed or repaired. To improve the environmental footprint of 3D-printed objects, herein, we combine the dynamic nature of hydroxyl ester links, undergoing a catalyzed transesterification at elevated temperature, with an acrylate monomer derived from renewable resources. As a sustainable building block, we synthesized an acrylated linseed oil and mixed it with selected thiol crosslinkers. By careful selection of the transesterification catalyst, we obtained dynamic thiol-acrylate resins with a high cure rate and decent storage stability, which enabled the digital light processing (DLP) 3D-printing of objects with a structure size of 550 µm. Owing to their dynamic covalent bonds, the thiol-acrylate networks were able to relax 63% of their initial stress within 22 min at 180 °C and showed enhanced toughness after thermal annealing. We exploited the thermo-activated reflow of the dynamic networks to heal and re-shape the 3D-printed objects. The dynamic thiol-acrylate photopolymers also demonstrated promising healing, shape memory, and re-shaping properties, thus offering great potential for various industrial fields such as soft robotics and electronics.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/24/5377dynamic polymer networksvitrimersDLP 3D-printingself-healingbio-based monomersphotopolymers |
| spellingShingle | Usman Shaukat Bernhard Sölle Elisabeth Rossegger Sravendra Rana Sandra Schlögl Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks Polymers dynamic polymer networks vitrimers DLP 3D-printing self-healing bio-based monomers photopolymers |
| title | Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks |
| title_full | Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks |
| title_fullStr | Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks |
| title_short | Vat Photopolymerization 3D-Printing of Dynamic Thiol-Acrylate Photopolymers Using Bio-Derived Building Blocks |
| title_sort | vat photopolymerization 3d printing of dynamic thiol acrylate photopolymers using bio derived building blocks |
| topic | dynamic polymer networks vitrimers DLP 3D-printing self-healing bio-based monomers photopolymers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/24/5377 |
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