A 4D-Printable Photocurable Resin Derived from Waste Cooking Oil with Enhanced Tensile Strength
Yan Liu, Mengyu Liu, Xingang Fan, Pengyu Wang, Shuoping Chen
Abstract
In pursuit of enhancing the mechanical properties, especially the tensile strength, of 4D-printable consumables derived from waste cooking oil (WCO), we initiated the production of acrylate-modified WCO, which encompasses epoxy waste oil methacrylate (EWOMA) and epoxy waste oil acrylate (EWOA). Subsequently, a series of WCO-based 4D-printable photocurable resins were obtained by introducing a suitable diacrylate molecule as the second monomer, coupled with a composite photoinitiator system comprising Irgacure 819 and p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB). These materials were amenable to molding using an LCD light-curing 3D printer. Our findings underscored the pivotal role of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) among the array of diacrylate molecules in enhancing the mechanical properties of WCO-based 4D-printable resins. Notably, the 4D-printable material, composed of EWOA and TEGDMA in an equal mass ratio, exhibited nice mechanical strength comparable to that of mainstream petroleum-based 4D-printable materials, boasting a tensile strength of 9.17 MPa and an elongation at break of 15.39%. These figures significantly outperformed the mechanical characteristics of pure EWOA or TEGDMA resins. Furthermore, the EWOA-TEGDMA resin demonstrated impressive thermally induced shape memory performance, enabling deformation and recovery at room temperature and retaining its shape at -60 °C. This resin also demonstrated favorable biodegradability, with an 8.34% weight loss after 45 days of soil degradation. As a result, this 4D-printable photocurable resin derived from WCO holds immense potential for the creation of a wide spectrum of high-performance intelligent devices, brackets, mold, folding structures, and personalized products.