Digital Light Processing to Afford High Resolution and Degradable CO₂-Derived Copolymer Elastomers.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Vat photopolymerization 3D printing enables rapid, high-resolution manufacturing of polymer parts.
• The current material selection and properties for 3D printing are limited.
• There is a growing need for sustainable alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics and elastomers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the successful additive manufacturing (AM) of novel poly(carbonate-b-ester-b-carbonate) elastomers.
• To explore the use of a CO2-derived triblock copolymer in 3D printing resins.
• To create tunable, degradable thermosets with potential for sustainable material applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of an ABA triblock copolymer using a Co(II)Mg(II) catalyst.
• Formulation of the copolymer into resins for digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing.
• Utilizing a thiol-ene crosslinking system with varying crosslinker length and poly(ethylene glycol) content.

Main Results:

• Successful 3D printing of complex, triply periodic geometries at high resolution.
• Production of elastomeric and degradable thermosets with tunable properties.
• Thermomechanical characterization revealed printing-induced microphase separation and adjustable hydrophilicity.

Conclusions:

• Digital light processing (DLP) can be used to rapidly produce high-resolution, sustainable materials from low molar mass polyols.
• The developed 3D printable elastomers offer a promising alternative to conventional petrochemical-based options.
• This work facilitates the production of functional, sustainable plastics and elastomers via additive manufacturing.