Literature Seminar Abstract

Although 3D printers have improved significantly since their invention, research interests in printing materials have only recently surfaced. The majority of 3D printed objects consist of a single material, with objects printed of several materials requiring the user to switch starting materials mid-print. A recent manuscript from the Hawker group (doi: 10.1002/adma.201800364) describes the development of an additive manufacturing resin capable of being printed into multimaterial objects with spatially resolved, chemically distinct domains, resulting in synergistic improvements to mechanical properties (Figure 1). These advancements were achieved through orthogonal photo-crosslinking mechanisms using photoswitchable mask compounds which allow for selective material printing.

Reference: Adv. Mater., 2018, 1800364.