Mechanically Robust and Highly Stretchable Acrylated Glycerol Polyether Elastomers for Vat Photopolymerization 3D Printing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) elastomers are highly desirable due to their huge potential applications ranging from car industry and wearable electronics to tissue engineering. However, photocurable AM elastomers, which could well meet the requirements for vat photopolymerization (VPP) 3D printing in low-cost and high resolution as well as high-performance, remain rare. Herein, a photocurable glycerol polyether (GP)-based elastomer was constructed in a commercially friendly and industrially feasible solution. The GP acrylate (GPA) oligomer was prepared at a kilogram scale via one-step esterification in high yield (>93%) from the low-priced GP. Then, the photoresin of the elastomer was achieved in a low viscosity (258 mPa•s) but a high performance by incorporating with biocompatible isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP). The GP units acted as the soft segments, while the introduction of UV-responsive IBOA and NVP into the GPA cross-network resulted the elastomer in high strength and toughness as well as good stress dispersion. The tensile strength and elongation at break can reach 17.8 MPa and 809.3%, respectively. The excellent compression fatigue resistance enabled elastomer with 1500 consecutive tensile cycles at 100% strain. Moreover, this photocurable elastomer was compatible with both VPP-based digital light processing and stereo lithography appearance techniques, resulting the printed objects in as low as 50 μm fabrication resolution and comparable mechanical properties. What is more, low cytotoxicity evaluation as well as the low acute dermal irritation and skin sensitization all exhibited the high biocompatibility, which further enhanced the great potential of GPA elastomer in wearable and biomedical fields.