Volumetric Additive Manufacturing of Dicyclopentadiene by Solid-State Photopolymerization

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Solid-state polymerization is typically limited by restricted molecular mobility.
• Achieving polymerization in the solid state requires overcoming inherent mobility constraints.
• Crystalline dicyclopentadiene presents unique properties for solid-state reactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the feasibility of solid-state photopolymerization of crystalline dicyclopentadiene.
• To investigate the underlying mechanisms enabling solid-state polymerization in this system.
• To explore the applications of this novel polymerization method in advanced fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Photoinitiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was employed.
• The study focused on crystalline dicyclopentadiene as the monomer.
• Characterization of the plastic crystal nature and polymerization kinetics was performed.

Main Results:

• Successful solid-state photopolymerization of dicyclopentadiene was achieved via ROMP.
• The plastic crystal phase of dicyclopentadiene provides the necessary local mobility for polymerization.
• Demonstrated capabilities include photopatterning and volumetric additive manufacturing.

Conclusions:

• Solid-state photopolymerization of dicyclopentadiene is a viable and novel approach.
• The plastic crystal behavior is key to enabling polymerization in the solid state.
• This method opens new avenues for freeform fabrication of high-performance thermosets.