Strongly adhesive and sustainable photopolymers via reaction-sequenced network design

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Abstract Photopolymers enable rapid curing and digital manufacturing but are typically constrained by a trade-off between mechanical robustness, interfacial adaptability, and sustainable design. Here, we develop a reaction-sequenced photopolymerization strategy that kinetically separates distinct network-forming pathways during curing. Rapid free-radical polymerization constructs an initial load-bearing acrylate network, while the delayed formation of an epoxy network provides an energy-dissipating phase. A renewable cellulose component reinforces interfacial adhesion through synergistic interactions with both polymer networks, facilitating efficient stress dissipation. This bio-based adhesive achieves a lap-shear strength of 17.7 MPa at 30 wt% cellulose, demonstrating that high biomass incorporation is compatible with superior bonding performance. Crucially, the system retains rapid, solvent-free curing and stereolithographic compatibility, underscoring its potential for sustainable, high-performance manufacturing. Collectively, this work establishes a general reaction-sequenced design framework that reconciles mechanical performance with high renewable content, offering a sustainable pathway for engineering next-generation photopolymer systems.
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Strongly adhesive and sustainable photopolymers via reaction-sequenced network design | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Strongly adhesive and sustainable photopolymers via reaction-sequenced network design Ling-Ping Xiao, Shuang-Lin Zou, Ying-Chun Xu, Jia-Hui Zhang, Wen-Zheng Yin, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8996927/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Photopolymers enable rapid curing and digital manufacturing but are typically constrained by a trade-off between mechanical robustness, interfacial adaptability, and sustainable design. Here, we develop a reaction-sequenced photopolymerization strategy that kinetically separates distinct network-forming pathways during curing. Rapid free-radical polymerization constructs an initial load-bearing acrylate network, while the delayed formation of an epoxy network provides an energy-dissipating phase. A renewable cellulose component reinforces interfacial adhesion through synergistic interactions with both polymer networks, facilitating efficient stress dissipation. This bio-based adhesive achieves a lap-shear strength of 17.7 MPa at 30 wt% cellulose, demonstrating that high biomass incorporation is compatible with superior bonding performance. Crucially, the system retains rapid, solvent-free curing and stereolithographic compatibility, underscoring its potential for sustainable, high-performance manufacturing. Collectively, this work establishes a general reaction-sequenced design framework that reconciles mechanical performance with high renewable content, offering a sustainable pathway for engineering next-generation photopolymer systems. Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Composites Physical sciences/Materials science/Biomaterials/Bioinspired materials Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. L.-P.X., S.-L.Z., Y.-C.X., Q.W. and R.-C.S. have filed a Chinese patent application (application number: 2026100842375). The other authors declare that they have no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryVideoS1.mp4 Supplementary Video S1. SupplementaryVideoS2.mp4 Supplementary Video S2. SupplementaryVideoS3.mp4 Supplementary Video S3. SupplementaryVideoS4.mp4 Supplementary Video S4. SupplementaryVideoS5.mp4 Supplementary Video S5. SupplementaryVideoS6.mp4 Supplementary Video S6. SupplementaryVideoS7.mp4 Supplementary Video S7. SupplementaryVideoS8.mp4 Supplementary Video S8. SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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