IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-42369-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Light-oriented 3D printing of liquid crystal/photocurable resins and in-situ enhancement of mechanical performance

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaolu Sun

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Shaoyun Chen

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Bo Qu

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Rui Wang

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Yanyu Zheng

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Xiaoying Liu

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Wenjie Li

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Jianhong Gao

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

  • Qinhui Chen

    (Fujian Normal University)

  • Dongxian Zhuo

    (Quanzhou Normal University
    Fujian Normal University
    Fujian University Engineering Research Center of Polymer Functional Coating based Graphene
    Fujian Key Laboratory of New Materials for Light Textile and Chemical Industry)

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technology has significantly impacted contemporary industries due to its ability to generate intricate computer-designed geometries. However, 3D-printed polymer parts often possess limited application potential, primarily because of their weak mechanical attributes. To overcome this drawback, this study formulates liquid crystal/photocurable resins suitable for the stereolithography technique by integrating 4’-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl with a photosensitive acrylic resin. This study demonstrates that stereolithography facilitates the precise modulation of the existing liquid crystal morphology within the resin. Furthermore, the orientation of the liquid crystal governs the oriented polymerization of monomers or prepolymers bearing acrylate groups. The products of this 3D printing approach manifest anisotropic behavior. Remarkably, when utilizing liquid crystal/photocurable resins, the resulting 3D-printed objects are approximately twice as robust as those created using commercial resins in terms of their tensile, flexural, and impact properties. This pioneering approach holds promise for realizing autonomously designed structures that remain elusive with present additive manufacturing techniques.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaolu Sun & Shaoyun Chen & Bo Qu & Rui Wang & Yanyu Zheng & Xiaoying Liu & Wenjie Li & Jianhong Gao & Qinhui Chen & Dongxian Zhuo, 2023. "Light-oriented 3D printing of liquid crystal/photocurable resins and in-situ enhancement of mechanical performance," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-42369-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42369-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42369-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-42369-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Silvan Gantenbein & Kunal Masania & Wilhelm Woigk & Jens P. W. Sesseg & Theo A. Tervoort & André R. Studart, 2018. "Three-dimensional printing of hierarchical liquid-crystal-polymer structures," Nature, Nature, vol. 561(7722), pages 226-230, September.
    2. Daniel Wangpraseurt & Shangting You & Farooq Azam & Gianni Jacucci & Olga Gaidarenko & Mark Hildebrand & Michael Kühl & Alison G. Smith & Matthew P. Davey & Alyssa Smith & Dimitri D. Deheyn & Shaochen, 2020. "Bionic 3D printed corals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. D. Mistry & N. A. Traugutt & B. Sanborn & R. H. Volpe & L. S. Chatham & R. Zhou & B. Song & K. Yu & K. N. Long & C. M. Yakacki, 2021. "Soft elasticity optimises dissipation in 3D-printed liquid crystal elastomers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu Cang & Jiaqi Liu & Meguya Ryu & Bartlomiej Graczykowski & Junko Morikawa & Shu Yang & George Fytas, 2022. "On the origin of elasticity and heat conduction anisotropy of liquid crystal elastomers at gigahertz frequencies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Wei Wang & Shu Jian Chen & Weiqiang Chen & Wenhui Duan & Jia Zie Lai & Kwesi Sagoe-Crentsil, 2022. "Damage-tolerant material design motif derived from asymmetrical rotation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Mohsen Habibi & Shervin Foroughi & Vahid Karamzadeh & Muthukumaran Packirisamy, 2022. "Direct sound printing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Debika Datta & Elliot L. Weiss & Daniel Wangpraseurt & Erica Hild & Shaochen Chen & James W. Golden & Susan S. Golden & Jonathan K. Pokorski, 2023. "Phenotypically complex living materials containing engineered cyanobacteria," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Quyang Liu & Xinyu Dong & Haobo Qi & Haoqi Zhang & Tian Li & Yijing Zhao & Guanjin Li & Wei Zhai, 2024. "3D printable strong and tough composite organo-hydrogels inspired by natural hierarchical composite design principles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Qingrui Wang & Xiaoyong Tian & Daokang Zhang & Yanli Zhou & Wanquan Yan & Dichen Li, 2023. "Programmable spatial deformation by controllable off-center freestanding 4D printing of continuous fiber reinforced liquid crystal elastomer composites," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Huan Jiang & Christopher Chung & Martin L. Dunn & Kai Yu, 2024. "4D printing of liquid crystal elastomer composites with continuous fiber reinforcement," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Hongxing Wang & Longdi Cheng & Jianyong Yu & Yang Si & Bin Ding, 2024. "Biomimetic Bouligand chiral fibers array enables strong and superelastic ceramic aerogels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-42369-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.