Epoxy-Based Blend Formulation for Dual Curing in Liquid Crystal Display 3D Printing: A Study on Thermomechanical...

Area of Science:

• Polymer Science
• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Epoxy-acrylate blends are crucial for advanced 3D printing techniques like liquid crystal display (LCD) additive manufacturing.
• Optimizing blend composition and curing parameters is key to enhancing material performance and processability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the thermal properties of epoxy-acrylate blends modified with a reactive monofunctional epoxy diluent.
• To evaluate the impact of diluent content and curing conditions on the thermomechanical properties and processability of the blends for LCD 3D printing.

Main Methods:

• Formulations of epoxy-acrylate blends were prepared with varying wt% of a reactive epoxy diluent (oxirane, mono[(C12-14 alkyl) methyl] derivatives).
• Double curing cycles (photocuring followed by thermal curing) were employed, with different post-curing temperatures investigated.
• Thermomechanical properties, including glass transition temperature, and processing times were evaluated.

Main Results:

• The addition of the reactive diluent and control over curing temperature allowed for tailoring of thermomechanical properties.
• Glass transition temperatures ranged from 115.4 °C to 90.8 °C, depending on diluent content and post-curing temperature.
• The optimized resin demonstrated significantly reduced printing times (4 h 20 min) compared to initial formulations (7–16 h), indicating improved processability.

Conclusions:

• The developed epoxy-acrylate resin, optimized with a reactive diluent and controlled curing, offers enhanced thermomechanical properties and superior processability for LCD 3D printing.
• This formulation enables faster printing cycles, making it a promising material for efficient additive manufacturing in display technologies.