Recyclable and High-Performance Thermosetting Polymers for Digital Light Processing 3D Printing

Abstract

The current DLP 3D printing resins have poor mechanical properties and are not recyclable. In this study, the hybrid of epoxy resin, polysulfide rubber, soybean-oil-based acrylates, and 3D printing resin is prepared to achieve high mechanical performance and recovery of 3D printing via dual curing. 1,5,7-triazabicyclo [4.4.0] dec-5-ene is added to the matrix material to enable transesterification in the network. The break and formation of disulfide bonds at high temperatures synergistically promote the transesterification reaction. The resultant resin has a tensile strength of 83 MPa and flexural strength of 129 MPa, which are much greater than the current DLP 3D printing resin. The resultant resin can degrade insolvent with a recovery rate of 98% after 8 days. The recyclable 3D printing material with high-performance shows a promising application in the green manufacturing engineering field.