3D Printing of Covalent Adaptable Networks: Overview, Applications and Future Prospects

Abstract

3D printing, a rapidly growing material processing technique has found its broad applications in construction, automobiles, robotics, domestic usage and in biomedical sectors due to its ability to fabricate the desirable objects from scratch. However, due to the non-recyclable and non-reprocessable nature of most printed structures, the discarded 3D printed objects generate wastes after damage or use. Covalent Adaptable Networks (CANs) are polymeric networks those can change their network topology by exchanging their functionalities under external stimuli, thus, rendering the printed objects recyclable, therefore helpful in terms of reducing waste. The fabricated objects may also be endowed with properties such as self-healing, shape-memory, enhanced mechanical strength, degradability, and reprintability. The present article covers different methods utilized for 3D printing of the polymers having CANs, including a detailed insight to present trends and technologies in the field. In addition, their applications, particularly in soft robotics and biomedical fields have been discussed. Future perspectives regarding the challenges, new potential applications as well as importance of continuous advancements in the field of 3D printing of CANs have also been discussed.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Covalent adaptable network
• 3D printing
• recycling
• self-healing
• dynamic covalent chemistry

Acknowledgements

Part of the research work was performed also within the COMET-Module “Chemitecture” (project-no.: 21647048) at the Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH (PCCL, Austria) within the framework of the COMET-program of the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs with contributions by the Institute of Chemistry of Polymeric Materials (Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Austria).

Additional information

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB-DST), Government of India (Grant No. CRG/2021/006957). The PCCL is funded by the Austrian Government and the State Governments of Styria, Upper and Lower Austria. The third author is supported by the Institute of Engineering Research at Seoul National University.