MORE | Spring 2021

Reprocessable Thermoset Photopolymers in 3D Printing Application

A UV photoinduced step-growth cross-linked network that incorporates dynamic disulfide linkages into the backbone is reported. Multifunctional enes and thiols are used to create a polymer network via photoinduced radical-mediated thiol-ene “click” chemistry. Particularly, the thiol utilized in this investigation is a commercial liquid, low molecular weight oligomer containing disulfide linkages and thiol end groups (i.e., Thioplast). The disulfide bonds incorporated in the backbone would enable a complete degradation of the obtained polymer network into oligomers, which can be effectively reused to establish a recyclable polymer network again.