Role of GO and photoinitiator concentration on curing behavior of PEG-based polymer for DLP 3D printing

Abstract

Photocuring kinetics in photopolymerization-based three-dimensional (3D) printing processes have gained significant attention because they determine the final dimension accuracy of the printed structures. In this study, the curing kinetics of liquid-light-curable resins, including water-dispersed graphene oxide (GO) and ultraviolet (UV)-cured acrylic resins, were investigated during digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing. Various stable composites of water-dispersed GO and UV-cured acrylic resin were prepared to fabricate 3D structures for cure-depth measurements. Several factors, including the UV-exposure conditions, photoinitiator concentration, and composition of the photopolymer resin, were found to significantly affect the cure-depth characteristics of the printed structures. The photocuring depth of the polymeric resin system was investigated as a function of the photoinitiator concentration. In addition, the study showed that the introduction of GO played a significant role in controlling the performance of the highly cross-linked network and the thickness of the cured layer. The curing characteristics of functional photocurable polymer-based DLP 3D printing contribute to process development and improvement of the quality of printed microstructures for industrial applications.