Photocurable pentaerythritol triacrylate/lithium phenyl‐2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoylphosphinate‐based ink for extrusion‐based 3D printing of magneto‐responsive materials

摘要

Abstract Recent advances in additive manufacturing made it feasible to fabricate products with desired shapes and features. Herein, a new, photocurable 3D printer ink mainly based on pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) is reported. To achieve rapid curing needed for 3D printing process, high performance water‐soluble photoinitiator, lithium phenyl‐2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP), was emulsified in PETA monomers and this suspension was evaluated for its polymerization kinetics by exposing to 395 nm UV‐light. The distinct influences of LAP and triethanolamine (TEA) concentrations on photo‐polymerization and printability were examined and an optimum concentration for extrusion‐based 3D printing was found to be 10 m M and 1.62 M for LAP and TEA, respectively. Synthesized PETA‐based 3D printer ink was functionalized by dispersing magnetic particles/flakes into the mixture, and consequently, a magneto responsive ink was obtained to be used in specialized applications. A ring‐shaped structure embedded with micron sized iron flakes was printed as a prototype. This study presents a versatile photo‐curable polymer formulation with possible translation to high performance 3D printing of customizable shapes that can be utilized in a wide range of areas such as micro‐robotics and medical science.