Critical analysis of the thermal stability of transesterification vitrimers for 3D-printing applications based on digital light processing

3D-printable vitrimers processed by digital light processing (DLP) have been recently developed, based on the transesterification reaction of ß-hydroxyester structures from mono- and diacrylate monomers employed in the formulation. These materials show promising repairability and recyclability, in a...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Romano, Angelo, Konuray, Ali Osman|||0000-0001-7281-006X, Román Concha, Frida Rosario|||0000-0001-7435-2402, Calventus Solé, Yolanda|||0000-0002-6216-5420, Fernández Francos, Xavier|||0000-0002-3492-2922, Roppolo, Ignazio, Sangermano, Marco
Format: article
Publication Date:2023
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repository:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/397872
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/397872
https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pi.6592
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Materials science
Three-dimensional printing
Polymers
3D-printing
Vitrimer
Digital light processing (DLP)
Thermal stability
Relaxation dynamics
Ciència dels materials
Impressió 3D
Polímers
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria dels materials
Description
Summary:3D-printable vitrimers processed by digital light processing (DLP) have been recently developed, based on the transesterification reaction of ß-hydroxyester structures from mono- and diacrylate monomers employed in the formulation. These materials show promising repairability and recyclability, in addition to other interesting features such as shape memory and shape reconfigurability. It has been reported that structural changes taking place due to transesterification promote network rearrangement and an enhancement of the thermomechanical properties. However, the elevated temperatures required for the network reconfiguration cast some doubts on their applicability in real-life scenarios. In this paper, we analyze the effect of the thermal treatment on the thermomechanical properties and relaxation behavior of these materials and discuss the underlying mechanism explaining the observed changes. We identify some critical issues related to use of a monoacrylate containing ß-hydroxyester moieties, and propose solutions to overcome the most relevant drawbacks.