
ABSTRACT Photo‐crosslinking is a fast and efficient approach to obtain chemically crosslinked semi‐crystalline networks featuring both one‐way and two‐way shape‐memory effect. However, the effect of photo‐crosslinking parameters and fabrication method on the physical, thermo‐mechanical, and shape‐memory properties of these networks still has to be investigated. This paper aims to fill this gap, specifically focusing on semi‐crystalline polycaprolactone (PCL) networks. In detail, the influence of key photo‐crosslinking parameters ‐crosslinking temperature and UV light intensity‐ as well as the fabrication method ‐2D vs. 3D‐ were investigated. As a general trend, crosslinking above the melting temperature of PCL and selecting a high UV light intensity yielded structures with superior performance, also displaying stress‐free shape‐memory behavior. Conversely, crosslinking below the crystallization temperature of PCL and selecting a low UV light intensity led to reduced performance and absence of stress‐free actuation. To address this limitation, a post‐treatment involving additional UV exposure was introduced, which significantly improved overall performance, particularly enhancing the two‐way shape‐memory behavior. Interestingly, although the 3D printed samples displayed thermal properties comparable to their 2D counterparts, their shape‐memory performance was significantly reduced. Overall, these findings provide practical design guidelines for engineering 2D and 3D PCL‐based semi‐crystalline structures with tunable physical, thermal, and shape‐memory properties.
Cross-Linking Reagents, Ultraviolet Rays, 3D printing; PCL; photo‐crosslinking; Semi‐crystalline polymer networks; Shape‐memory polymers, Polyesters, 3D printing; PCL; photo-crosslinking; semi-crystalline polymer networks; shape-memory polymers, Printing, Three-Dimensional, Temperature, Crystallization, Research Article
Cross-Linking Reagents, Ultraviolet Rays, 3D printing; PCL; photo‐crosslinking; Semi‐crystalline polymer networks; Shape‐memory polymers, Polyesters, 3D printing; PCL; photo-crosslinking; semi-crystalline polymer networks; shape-memory polymers, Printing, Three-Dimensional, Temperature, Crystallization, Research Article
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
