Development of biobased resins for LCD 3D printing: Effect of resin design and curing process on product properties

This study is devoted to the development of new biobased photosensitive resin suitable for LCD 3D printing technology, aiming to determine the effect of resin design and curing process on product properties. For the first time, the simultaneous photo-photo dual-cure resins were composed of phloroglucinol tris epoxy, glycerol 1,3-diglycerolate diacrylate, and tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate. The influence of each monomer on the resin and photocuring parameters was determined. The photocuring kinetics of biobased resins was investigated by real-time photorheometry in order to select the most suitable system for LCD 3D printing. The LCD 3D printed polymer samples were compared with those photocured in a mold and post-cured samples. Post-curing greatly increased tensile strength and glass transition temperature, but reduced polymer flexibility. The resulting polymers also showed mechanical and thermal characteristics similar to those of polymers obtained from the common commercial resins for optical 3D printing. The box was printed highly accurately with an even surface finish, verifying the relevancy of the developed biobased resin for LCD 3D printing technology. All polymers synthesized in this work showed thermoresponsive shape memory behavior, which is highly important for reusability of products and for reducing plastic pollution.