3D printing of polybutadiene rubber cured by photo-induced thiol-ene chemistry: A proof of concept

Abstract

Mechanical performance of 3D printed ‘Rubber-like’ commercial resins are not comparable to typical vulcanized diene rubbers since they show lower strain at break. In the present work, samples made of liquid butadiene rubber have been photocured by thiol-ene chemistry and 3D printed. Morphological features and mechanical properties have been investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile tests. The 3D printed samples show the characteristic mechanical properties of unfilled diene rubbers reaching a strain at break up to 400%.

Keywords

• rubber
• 3d printing
• elastomers
• additive manufacturing