Open AccessPerformance comparison of acrylic and thiol-acrylic resins in two-photon polymerization
Author(s) -
Lijia Jiang,
Wei Xiong,
Yushen Zhou,
Ying Liu,
Xi Huang,
Dawei Li,
Tommaso Baldacchini,
Lan Jiang,
Yongfeng Lu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.013687
Subject(s) - microfabrication , polymerization , monomer , materials science , shrinkage , acrylic acid , acrylate , polymer chemistry , thiol , microstructure , polymer , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , fabrication , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
Microfabrication by two-photon polymerization is investigated using resins based on thiol-ene chemistry. In particular, resins containing different amounts of a tetrafunctional acrylic monomer and a tetrafunctional thiol molecule are used to create complex microstructures. We observe the enhancement of several characteristics of two-photon polymerization when using thiol-acrylic resins. Specifically, microfabrication is carried out using higher writing velocities and it produces stronger polymeric microstructures. Furthermore, the amount of shrinkage typically observed in the production of three-dimensional microstructures is reduced also. By means of microspectrometry, we confirm that the thiol-acrylate mixture in TPP resins promote monomer conversion inducing a higher degree of cross-linked network formation.