From Glassy Plastic to Ductile Elastomer: Vegetable Oil-Based UV-Curable Vitrimers and Their Potential Use in 3D Printing

Y Current UV-curable resins based on acrylate or methacrylate monomers are mostly derived from nonrenewable petroleum feedstocks, and the cured resins are not easily repairable or reprocessable due to the stable cross-linked network. In this work, bio-based UV-curable dimethacrylate compounds are synthesized via reaction of the vegetable oil-derived dimer acid with glycidyl methacrylate. The length and flexibility of the chain segment between the two methacrylate groups are manipulated to tune the properties of the cross-linked polymer materials. The UV-cured materials exhibit a tensile strength of up to 9.2 MPa and an elongation at break of up to 66.4%. At elevated temperatures (>160 degrees C), the thermally induced dynamic transesterification reaction (DTER) between hydroxyl groups and ester bonds in the network structure provides repairability to the material. Use of the UV resin for three-dimensional (3D) printing is demonstrated. The printed objects exhibit unique welding and shape-changing properties owing to the thermally induced DTER. This work integrates the concepts of UV curing, vitrimer preparation, 3D printing, and bio-based polymers, demonstrating a feasible approach for the sustainable design of polymer materials.

Automated summary

This study synthesized bio-based UV-curable dimethacrylate compounds from vegetable oil-derived dimer acid and glycidyl methacrylate, with tunable properties of the cross-linked polymer materials by manipulating the chain segment between the methacrylate groups. The UV-cured materials showed high tensile strength and elongation at break, with repairability provided by thermally induced dynamic transesterification reaction. The use of UV resin in 3D printing demonstrated unique welding and shape-changing properties due to thermally induced DTER, showcasing a sustainable design approach for polymer materials.