Thiol-X Chemistry: A Skeleton Key Unlocking Advanced Polymers in Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Using additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for the fabrication of advanced polymeric objects is a logical progression to realize their potential within engineering applications that demand complex geometries. Thiol-X chemistry has presented itself as a diverse and invaluable toolkit to accomplish such, satisfying both the processing requirements and properties desired to fabricate a diverse range of advanced polymeric objects using a variety of AM technologies. The “click” nature of many thiol-X reactions, mechanisms of polymerization, functional group tolerance and orthogonality, and diverse and desirable properties achievable with thiol-X chemistry presents a synergistic opportunity that few other chemistries can as broadly facilitate. As a result, the use of thiol-X chemistry within AM has gained rapid traction in recent years and it is now the case that both thiol-X chemistry and additive manufacturing technologies are being viewed as two sides of the same coin, whereby the scope and limitations of the whole system are appreciated. This review highlights the advancements, status, scope, and opportunities of using thiol-X chemistry in AM to achieve a diverse range of advanced polymers by critically examining the structure-property-processing-performance relationships between different thiol-X chemistries and various AM technologies.