Enhancing the Toughness of UV-Curable Methacrylic Resins by Self-Assembled PB-b-PMMA Diblock Copolymers

Titelangaben

Baeyens, Tobias ; Rist, Kai ; Catel, Yohann ; Rosenfeldt, Sabine ; Schmalz, Holger ; Agarwal, Seema:
Enhancing the Toughness of UV-Curable Methacrylic Resins by Self-Assembled PB-b-PMMA Diblock Copolymers.
In: Macromolecules. (2024) .
ISSN 1520-5835
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c01108

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Abstract

The brittleness of neat (meth)acrylic resins hampers their use in additive manufacturing, an emerging method in dentistry. Here, we show that polybutadiene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PB-b-PMMA) diblock copolymers are highly efficient toughening agents for methacrylic resins, resulting in a significantly enhanced fracture toughness (up to Kmax = 2.2 MPa m1/2) without compromising mechanical strength or processability. The composition and molecular weight of the diblock copolymers, their weight fraction in the resin, and the preparation method were systematically varied, revealing most efficient toughening for a diblock copolymer with 60 wt% PB and a Mn of 20 kg mol-1 (5 wt% in resin). The formation of homogeneously dispersed worm-like micelles with a soft, resin-immiscible PB core and a resin-miscible PMMA corona was found to be essential for toughening. These results underscore the potential of diblock copolymers as highly efficient toughening agents for methacrylic resins, advancing dental material development for 3D printing applications.