Preparation of UV curable acrylamide modified epoxy resin and performance in 3D printing

Abstract

A novel UV-curable 3D printing resin was synthesized by combining diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and acrylamide (AAM) to create a UV-curable acrylamide-modified epoxy resin prepolymer. This prepolymer was then uniformly mixed with the photoinitiator TPO and the reactive diluent hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). By adjusting the prepolymer content, UV-curable 3D printing resins were formulated with prepolymer concentrations of 30 wt%, 40 wt%, and 50 wt%, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance studies indicated that the amino groups in acrylamide reacted with the epoxy groups. When the prepolymer was added at concentrations of 30 wt% and 40 wt%, the viscosity met the requirements for UV-curable 3D printing. Upon completion of curing, these three distinct resins exhibited high mechanical strength, with tensile strength reaching up to 59.42 MPa and flexural strength peaking at 72.25 MPa. The elongation at break ranged from 2.60 % to 4.91 %. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the UV-cured 3D printed samples, and comparison with the design files revealed that the printed samples exhibited excellent dimensional stability. The study results indicated that this novel UV-curable epoxy vinyl resin formulation possessed excellent mechanical properties, suitable curing characteristics, and high resolution, making it a highly promising prepolymer for UV-curable 3D printing.