Critical analysis of the thermal stability of transesterification vitrimers for 3D-printing applications based on digital light processing

3D-printable vitrimers processed by digital light processing (DLP) have been recently developed, based on the transesterification reaction of β-hydroxyester structures from mono- and diacrylate monomers employed in the formulation. These materials show promising repairability and recyclability, in addition to other interesting features such as shape memory and shape reconfigurability. It has been reported that structural changes taking place due to transesterification promote network rearrangement and an enhancement of the thermomechanical properties. However, the elevated temperatures required for the network reconfiguration cast some doubts on their applicability in real-life scenarios. In this paper, we analyze the effect of the thermal treatment on the thermomechanical properties and relaxation behavior of these materials and discuss the underlying mechanism explaining the observed changes. We identify some critical issues related to use of a monoacrylate containing β-hydroxyester moieties, and propose solutions to overcome the most relevant drawbacks. © 2023 The Authors. Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Industrial Chemistry.