A thiol-functional amine synergist as a co-initiator for DLP 3D printing applications

This article describes a newly synthesized thiol-functional amine synergist and its application as a co-initiator in two-component photoinitiating systems to initiate radical photopolymerization utilizing light sources in the ultraviolet and visible ranges. For this purpose, various investigations have been carried out to explore the spectroscopic properties of the newly synthesized amine and its influence on the kinetic parameters. Absorbance, photolysis, and electrochemical investigations were conducted, and kinetic measurements were performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The final research stage involved application studies related to the use of amines in light-initiated 3D printing to obtain spatial structures as well as silica polymer nanocomposites. Additionally, an innovative aspect of this work is the synthesis and application of the dimer diamine-vanillin dimethacrylate monomer (DVDMA) in 3D printing. DVDMA, a bio-based monomer containing imine linkages, is readily cleavable under acidic conditions, thereby contributing to the degradation of 3D-printed parts.