TY - JOUR
T1 - Poly(ether ester) Ionomers as Water-Soluble Polymers for Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing Processes
AU - Pekkanen, Allison M.
AU - Zawaski, Callie
AU - Stevenson, André T.
AU - Dickerman, Ross
AU - Whittington, Abby R.
AU - Williams, Christopher B.
AU - Long, Timothy E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2017/4/12
Y1 - 2017/4/12
N2 - Water-soluble polymers as sacrificial supports for additive manufacturing (AM) facilitate complex features in printed objects. Few water-soluble polymers beyond poly(vinyl alcohol) enable material extrusion AM. In this work, charged poly(ether ester)s with tailored rheological and mechanical properties serve as novel materials for extrusion-based AM at low temperatures. Melt transesterification of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, 8k) and dimethyl 5-sulfoisophthalate afforded poly(ether ester)s of sufficient molecular weight to impart mechanical integrity. Quantitative ion exchange provided a library of poly(ether ester)s with varying counterions, including both monovalent and divalent cations. Dynamic mechanical and tensile analysis revealed an insignificant difference in mechanical properties for these polymers below the melting temperature, suggesting an insignificant change in final part properties. Rheological analysis, however, revealed the advantageous effect of divalent countercations (Ca2+, Mg2+, and Zn2+) in the melt state and exhibited an increase in viscosity of two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, time-temperature superposition identified an elevation in modulus, melt viscosity, and flow activation energy, suggesting intramolecular interactions between polymer chains and a higher apparent molecular weight. In particular, extrusion of poly(PEG8k-co-CaSIP) revealed vast opportunities for extrusion AM of well-defined parts. The unique melt rheological properties highlighted these poly(ether ester) ionomers as ideal candidates for low-temperature material extrusion additive manufacturing of water-soluble parts.
AB - Water-soluble polymers as sacrificial supports for additive manufacturing (AM) facilitate complex features in printed objects. Few water-soluble polymers beyond poly(vinyl alcohol) enable material extrusion AM. In this work, charged poly(ether ester)s with tailored rheological and mechanical properties serve as novel materials for extrusion-based AM at low temperatures. Melt transesterification of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, 8k) and dimethyl 5-sulfoisophthalate afforded poly(ether ester)s of sufficient molecular weight to impart mechanical integrity. Quantitative ion exchange provided a library of poly(ether ester)s with varying counterions, including both monovalent and divalent cations. Dynamic mechanical and tensile analysis revealed an insignificant difference in mechanical properties for these polymers below the melting temperature, suggesting an insignificant change in final part properties. Rheological analysis, however, revealed the advantageous effect of divalent countercations (Ca2+, Mg2+, and Zn2+) in the melt state and exhibited an increase in viscosity of two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, time-temperature superposition identified an elevation in modulus, melt viscosity, and flow activation energy, suggesting intramolecular interactions between polymer chains and a higher apparent molecular weight. In particular, extrusion of poly(PEG8k-co-CaSIP) revealed vast opportunities for extrusion AM of well-defined parts. The unique melt rheological properties highlighted these poly(ether ester) ionomers as ideal candidates for low-temperature material extrusion additive manufacturing of water-soluble parts.
KW - additive manufacturing
KW - counterion
KW - ionomers
KW - material extrusion
KW - poly(ethylene glycol)
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U2 - 10.1021/acsami.7b01777
DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b01777
M3 - Article
C2 - 28329442
AN - SCOPUS:85017441777
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 9
SP - 12324
EP - 12331
JO - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
IS - 14
ER -