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Open-Air, Ultrafast Photoiniferter Polymerization Enables 3D Printing with Low-Viscosity Resins
Zipeng Zhang1, Dong Su2, Mingzhou Zhang1
1Qingdao Institute for Theoretical and Computational Science, Center for Optics Research and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|December 26, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a new photoiniferter, dithioindazolylcarboxylate (DTI), for faster and more precise 3D printing. This innovation overcomes limitations in current photo-controlled radical polymerization (photo-RDRP) for advanced material fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- 3D Printing Technology
Background:
- Photo-curing 3D printing faces challenges like heterogeneous networks and unreacted monomers, impacting part integrity.
- Photo-controlled radical polymerization (photo-RDRP) offers precision but suffers from slow kinetics, requiring viscous resins.
- Existing photoiniferters often exhibit poor oxygen tolerance, further limiting printing speed and material choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and computationally analyze a novel photoiniferter for efficient and oxygen-tolerant photo-RDRP.
- To overcome the sluggish kinetics and improve the control over network formation in 3D printing resins.
- To enable ultrafast 3D printing with high-resolution complex prototypes and enhanced material properties.
Main Methods:
- Computer-guided design and synthesis of a new photoiniferter: dithioindazolylcarboxylate (DTI).
- Computational analysis to predict the efficiency and oxygen tolerance of DTI.
- Photoiniferter polymerization experiments using methyl acrylate under visible light (415 nm) and comparison with dithiopyrazolylcarboxylate (DTP).
- Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printing and performance testing of anticorrosion coatings.
Main Results:
- DTI demonstrated a significantly higher apparent propagation rate (0.809 min⁻¹) compared to DTP (0.196 min⁻¹), over four-fold increase.
- DTI maintained 65.9% of its polymerization rate under air, showing superior oxygen tolerance compared to DTP (13.3%).
- Ultrafast DLP 3D printing was achieved in 8 seconds per layer using low-viscosity resins, producing complex prototypes.
- Photo-cured anticorrosion coatings exhibited high adhesion strength (13.53 MPa) and durability (720 h salt spray resistance).
Conclusions:
- The novel DTI photoiniferter enables significantly faster and more controlled photo-RDRP polymerization.
- This advancement facilitates ultrafast, high-resolution 3D printing with improved material performance.
- The DTI-based technology holds promise for advanced manufacturing and protective coatings.
