On May 17, the research group led by Prof. Xie Xiaolin and Peng Haiyan published a paper entitled "Efficient 3D printing via photooxidation of ketocoumarin based photopolymerization" on Nature Communications, which marks another remarkable progress in photopolymerization field based on previous work (Angew Chem Int Ed 2020, 59: 10066; JACS 2020, 142: 6285; Adv Sci 2019, 6: 1900205; JACS 2014, 136: 8855).
Photopolymerization-based three-dimensional (3D) printing can enable customized manufacturing that is difficult to achieve through other traditional means. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to achieve efficient 3D printing due to the compromise between print speed and resolution. Herein, the research group reports an efficient 3D printing approach based on the photooxidation of ketocoumarin that functions as the photosensitizer during photopolymerization, which can simultaneously deliver high print speed (5.1cm h−1) and high print resolution (23 μm) on a common 3D printer. Mechanistically, the initiating radical and deethylated ketocoumarin are both generated upon visible light exposure, with the former giving rise to rapid photopolymerization and high print speed while the latter ensuring high print resolution by confining the light penetration. By comparison, the printed feature is hard to identify when the ketocoumarin encounters photoreduction due to the increased lateral photopolymerization. The proposed approach here provides a viable solution towards efficient additive manufacturing by controlling the photoreaction of photosensitizers during photopolymerization.
Dr. Zhao Xiaoyu is the first author; Dr. Zhao Ye, and Prof. Xie Tao from Zhejiang University, Prof. Li Zhongan from HUST, Prof. Li Mingde from Shantou University are the co-authors; Prof. Xia Xiaolin and Prof. Peng Haiyan from HUST are the corresponding authors. Huazhong University of Science and Technology is the signature unit of the first author. This paper is funded by the Summit Plan of HUST, NSFC projects (51773073, 52073108) and Special Funds for Fundamental Scientific Research Operation Fees of Central Universities (2019kfyRCPY089).
Link of the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23170-4
