Title | Room temperature 3D printing of super-soft and solvent-free elastomers |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2020 |
Authors | Xie, Renxuan, Sanjoy Mukherjee, Adam E. Levi, Veronica G. Reynolds, Hengbin Wang, Michael L. Chabinyc, and Christopher M. Bates |
Journal | Science Advances |
Volume | 6 |
Pagination | eabc6900 |
Abstract | Super-soft elastomers derived from bottlebrush polymers show promise as advanced materials for biomimetic tissue and device applications, but current processing strategies are restricted to simple molding. Here, we introduce a design concept that enables the three-dimensional (3D) printing of super-soft and solvent-free bottlebrush elastomers at room temperature. The key advance is a class of inks comprising statistical bottlebrush polymers that self-assemble into well-ordered body-centered cubic sphere phases. These soft solids undergo sharp and reversible yielding at 20°C in response to shear with a yield stress that can be tuned by manipulating the length scale of microphase separation. The addition of a soluble photocrosslinker allows complete ultraviolet curing after extrusion to form super-soft elastomers with near-perfect recoverable elasticity well beyond the yield strain. These structure–property design rules create exciting opportunities to tailor the performance of 3D-printed elastomers in ways that are not possible with current materials and processes. |
URL | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc6900 |
DOI | 10.1126/sciadv.abc6900 |