SURE-POLY
SURE-Poly provides biobased solutions to petroleum-based photopolymers and offers new strategies to overcome problems related to the accumulation of plastic waste in the environment. By incorporating dynamic covalent bonds in photo-curable resins, 3D printable photopolymers are developed which can be recycled and reprocessed by a stimuli-triggered change in their viscoelastic properties.
Project Partners
- Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH
- Politecnico di Torino - Coordinator
- Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan
- Monash University
- Luxinergy GmbH
Motivation and Goals
The production of plastics and the related global plastic pollution increased exponentially over the past decade, which urges the scientific community to propose solutions for protecting the environment. One possible strategy to address this situation is the exploitation of biobased resources to derive precursors for the synthesis of polymers. In particular, the valorization of agro-food wastes is a promising strategy, which will be pursued in SURE-Poly.
However, chemically crosslinked biobased polymers are usually not biodegradable or recyclable. Taking into consideration the large distribution of polymer-based thermosets in automotive, aviation, maritime or construction industry, the development of bio-based and/or recyclable thermosets is crucial for improving the circularity of the polymer industry.
In SURE-Poly, dynamic covalent bonds are introduced in bio-based precursors, which are capable of undergoing reversible bond formation and cleavage. Although chemically crosslinked, the new bio-based photopolymers are recyclable and reprocessable.
Main Goals
- Transfer of skills and competences within the international and intersectoral consortium to improve employability and career prospective of the involved seconded staff members
- Valorization of biomass waste by extracting functional building blocks for functional monomers
- Synthesis of bio-based monomers with functional (meth)acrylate and epoxy groups
- Design and characterization of dynamic polymer networks derived from biobased resources
- Vat photopolymerization 3D printing of bio-based resins for creating objects with improved recyclability/reprocessability
Objectives and Approach
In SURE-Poly, sustainable thermosets are developed by following an interdisciplinary approach. Renewable precursors derived from agro-alimentary and biomass waste are functionalized by following the green-chemistry principal. Once synthetized, the bio-based functional monomers are crosslinked by light-triggered and thermally induced curing reactions, yielding infusible and insoluble polymer networks. The networks are equipped with dynamic covalent bonds, which renders the materials recyclable, repairable and malleable. The developed bio-based resins are then applied in vat photopolymerization 3D printing to obtain complex 3D structures, which undergo thermo-activated bond exchange reactions and are recyclable/reprocessable.
„SURE-Poly advances bio-based photopolymers and contributes to a circular economy of 3D processable photopolymers by exploiting the unique features of dynamic covalent bonds.“
Downloads & Weiterführende Links
Fördergeber
The project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement, No 101085759 (SURE-Poly).
