Biobased vitrimer synthesized from 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate and acrylated epoxidized soybean oil for digital light processing 3D printing

Abstract

The development of sustainable biobased vitrimeric materials is critical for the environment. Herein, UV-curable resins composed of the monomers derived from glycerol, soybean oil, and hemicellulose have been designed and applied in digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing. The use of hemicellulose-derived monomer tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate for resins can increase the tensile strength that is used to calculate the reprocessability efficiency. The vitrimeric properties of the resulting polymers such as shape memory, weldability, repairability, and reprocessability have been investigated. The most suitable resin for DLP 3D printing containing a sufficient amount of hydroxyl and ester groups that are essential in transesterification reactions has been selected according to the results of the real-time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and real-time photorheometry measurements. By activating dynamic transesterification reactions at elevated temperatures, the 3D printed samples exhibited shape memory, repairability, and reprocessability properties. A recovery ratio of 100 %, repairability with improved tensile strength by 2 times, and a recycling efficiency of 344 % was reached by incorporating tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate into the resins. The recycling efficiency achieved is 10 times higher compared to a similar vitrimer based on glycerol and soybean oil.