Polymers (Apr 2023)

High <i>T<sub>g</sub></i>, Bio-Based Isosorbide Methacrylate Resin Systems for Vat Photopolymerization

  • Xi Chu,
  • Jianwei Tu,
  • Heather R. Berensmann,
  • John J. La Scala,
  • Giuseppe R. Palmese

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15092007
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 9
p. 2007

Abstract

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The use of isosorbide-derived polymers has garnered significant attention in recent decades as a high-performance, renewable material sourced from biomass. Of particular interest is isosorbide methacrylate, which possesses low viscosity (Tg ≈ 220 °C), and high modulus (>4 GPa). These characteristics present a promising opportunity to replace BPA-derived methacrylate compounds in various applications. This investigation aims to synthesize and characterize isosorbide-based low-viscosity resin systems for 3D printing. The resin blends are composed of isosorbide methacrylate and two bio-renewable methacrylates, furfuryl methacrylate (FM) and bis-hydroxymethyl-furan methacrylate (BHMF-M), polymerized through a digital light processing (DLP) technique. The addition of the bio-based co-monomers serves to enhance the fracture toughness of the brittle isosorbide methacrylate crosslinked homopolymer (GIc = 37 J/m2). The resulting polymers exhibit Tg values greater than 200 °C and GIc around 100 J/m2. These resin systems hold potential for imparting high bio-based content to polymers used in additive manufacturing for high-performance applications.

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