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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction
Published on: January 19, 2016
Machine learning guided formulation design of digital light processing printable elastomers beyond viscosity
Younghan Song1,2, Bumsoo Park3,4, Seungbae Jeon5
1Extreme Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
The development of high-performance resins for vat photopolymerization-based three-dimensional printing is constrained by coupled trade-offs among viscosity, curing kinetics, and mechanical properties. Material discovery is often limited because conventional printing-based screening cannot evaluate formulations that are highly viscous or slow-curing. This study introduces a data-efficient workflow linking small-volume formulation screening, machine-learning optimization, and functional validation for constraint-aware design. By using a systematic library of formulations spanning printable and non-printable regimes, small-volume mold curing decouples material characterization from printing limitations to expand the training domain. Regression models trained on viscosity, curing time, elongation at break and tensile modulus identify an optimized formulation with suitable processability and high stretchability. Thermomechanical analyses reveal a homogeneous network and improved stability, while printed components exhibit robust durability. In this work, we show that a generalizable blueprint for rapid photopolymer formulation enables the constraint-aware design of functional materials for soft robotics and programmable three-dimensional devices.

