Date Approved

2-8-2022

Embargo Period

12-12-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Department

Chemical Engineering

College

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering

Advisor

Joseph Stanzione, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Alexander W. Bassett, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

James A. Newell, Ph.D.

Committee Member 3

Jianwei Tu, Ph.D.

Keywords

Additive Manufacturing, Interpenetrating Polymer Networks, Stereolithography, Structure-Property Relationships

Subject(s)

Vat photopolymerization

Disciplines

Chemical Engineering | Engineering

Abstract

Recently vat photopolymerization (VPP), a type of additive manufacturing (AM), has the potential to be used for a variety of commercial and military applications due to the ability to make custom parts rapidly and with complex geometries. Many commercially available photopolymerizable resins consist of (meth)acrylate and epoxy functionality to ensure rapid cure time and minimal shrinkage. Today, researchers continue to find the optimal balance of (meth)acrylate/epoxy functionality in unique formulations and network configurations, such as interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN)s, to enhance processibility and the quality of the final printed part. This work explores the structure-property relationships of a set of VPP resins synthesized from select starting materials in addition to improving the one-pot, two-step reaction methodology that has been employed by the Sustainable Materials Research Laboratory (SMRL) at Rowan University. Epoxy-methacrylate IPNs were prepared via a sequentially cured AM technique and subsequently evaluated for their thermal and mechanical properties. Through the incorporation of higher degrees of aliphatic character, the 3D printed IPNs yield an enhancement in toughness while maintaining thermal properties. Resultant IPNs were found to maintain glass transition temperatures above 130 ⁰C (tan δ) and increase fracture energies by more than 160%.

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