Highly Flexible and Photo-Activating Acryl-Polyurethane for 3D Steric Architectures

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Controlling flexibility in 3D printed architectures is crucial for advanced applications.
• Polyurethane methacrylates offer tunable properties for photopolymerization.
• Digital Light Processing (DLP) enables high-resolution 3D printing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize acryl-functionalized polyurethane (PU) resins for controlled flexibility in 3D printing.
• To optimize resin formulations for precise curvature and mechanical performance.
• To evaluate the suitability of these resins for digital light processing (DLP).

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of acryl-urethane prepolymer using poly(tetramethylene ether) glycol-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PTMG-MDI) oligomer.
• Formulation optimization with 1,4-butanediol (BD) chain-extender and diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (TPO) photoinitiator.
• Digital Light Processing (DLP) printing of 3D architectures using optimized resins mixed with 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA).

Main Results:

• Acryl-PTMG-MDI resins with controlled UV absorbance and exposure energy were developed.
• Optimized resin viscosity facilitated DLP printing of precisely curved 3D architectures.
• The printed 3D structures demonstrated superior flexural resolution, high surface hardness, good mechanical strength, and high elasticity compared to neat resins.

Conclusions:

• Acryl-functionalized PU resins are successfully synthesized for advanced 3D printing.
• Optimized formulations enable the creation of flexible, high-resolution 3D architectures with excellent mechanical properties.
• These materials hold significant potential for flexible applications in consumer, industrial, and biomedical fields.