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DE-SC0022261: Development of Recyclable Thermosets for Additive Manufacturing

Award Status: Active
  • Institution: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
  • UEI: HZJ2JZUALWN4
  • DUNS: 041358904
  • Most Recent Award Date: 09/03/2024
  • Number of Support Periods: 4
  • PM: Henderson, Craig
  • Current Budget Period: 09/01/2024 - 08/31/2025
  • Current Project Period: 09/01/2024 - 08/31/2027
  • PI: Chowdhury, Sanchari
  • Supplement Budget Period: N/A
 

Public Abstract

The widespread use of thermosets such as epoxy generates immense amounts of waste. Due to their irreversible network structure, once cured, thermosets cannot be reliquefied or reshaped. This makes their recycling and additive manufacturing challenging. Our goal is to develop thermosetting polymers which can be recycled using solar light and are suitable for additive manufacturing. To achieve that we incorporated the Diels–Alder chemistry in off-the-shelf epoxy reagents to develop a recyclable thermoset able to reversibly liquify at higher temperature and solidify upon cooling. Additionally, photothermal nanoparticles are added into the reversible epoxy. These nanoparticles strongly absorb visible light to generate heat inside the polymer to efficiently drive the reversible reactions making it suitable for both solar light enhanced recycling as well as light mediated additive manufacturing. We propose to understand the nanoscale heat generation and temperature distribution in the polymer nanocomposites under different light intensity and wavelengths and correlate the temperature with the reaction kinetics associated Diels–Alder reactions. This will allow us a precise control of temperature inside the polymer/nanoparticles composite using light enhancing their recyclability by selective enhancement of the Diels–Alder reaction over side reactions. Furthermore, we will study the effect of photothermal nanoparticles on recycling and additive manufacturing, such as selective laser sintering. We will study the thermomechanical properties and recyclability of the final structure in correlation with their processing conditions and feedstock properties. The outcome of this project will provide the foundation for developing a new class of recyclable epoxies suitable for additive manufacturing. 


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