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Photo‐Crosslinked Elastomeric Bimodal Poly(trimethylene carbonate) Networks
Author(s) -
Bochove Bas,
SchüllerRavoo Sigrid,
Grijpma Dirk W.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201800623
Subject(s) - trimethylene carbonate , materials science , stereolithography , elastomer , composite material , macromonomer , toughness , carbonate , porosity , ultimate tensile strength , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , polymerization , metallurgy , engineering
Using methacrylated poly(trimethylene carbonate) oligomers unimodal (prepared from one macromer) and bimodal (prepared from two macromers with different molecular weights) photo‐crosslinked networks and structures are prepared by stereolithography. The obtained biodegradable networks are flexible and elastic. Compared to the corresponding unimodal networks, the tensile properties of bimodal poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) network films are significantly enhanced. Resilient materials with increased toughness and suture retention strengths are obtained. The mechanical properties of the bimodal networks compare favorably with those of unimodal networks prepared previously from PTMC macromers with much higher molecular weights. Tough porous PTMC structures with designed diamond pore network architectures can also be readily prepared by stereolithography. Upon swelling of these PTMC structures in a solvent, the pore sizes and pore size distribution increases while the porosity decreases.