Additive manufacturing has emerged as a scalable approach to fabricate objects with complex geometries. One challenge in this field is the expansion of the material set utilized in this technique beyond conventional inert and rigid polymers to include more functional materials. To address this challenge, we have investigated the Digital Light Processing (DLP) printing of thermo-responsive hydrogels Motivated by the successful fabrication of single component functional materials, we also designed bilayer structures of these responsive systems, and experimentally and theoretically evaluated swelling and actuation responses.<br/>In this research we show that we are able to print bilayer structures from elastomeric and hydrophilic polymers. These structures are of particular interest because each of the two layers is itself comprised of multiple smaller cure layers due to the printing process. Variation of printing parameters shows control over the properties of the individual layers, such as toughness and swelling ratio. Cure times are optimized to match swelling of the two layers of the structure so as to keep the bilayer flat at room temperature. Thermoresponsive behavior of the different layers can be programmed during the printing process, offering control over both actuation and material geometry through careful control over print parameters. We also discuss predictive models for the swelling and actuating behavior. This work then explores how stimuli-responsive behavior can be controlled through careful monomer selection and printing conditions to yield robust soft actuators.

Additive manufacturing of thermo-responsive hydrogels

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.