Room temperature 3D printing of super-soft and solvent-free elastomers

TitleRoom temperature 3D printing of super-soft and solvent-free elastomers
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsXie, Renxuan, Sanjoy Mukherjee, Adam E. Levi, Veronica G. Reynolds, Hengbin Wang, Michael L. Chabinyc, and Christopher M. Bates
JournalScience Advances
Volume6
Paginationeabc6900
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.

URLhttps://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc6900
DOI10.1126/sciadv.abc6900