Thiol‐ene photopolymerizations combine the unique features of step‐growth reactions and photoinitiated polymerizations, so that they experience a growing interest for applications such as coatings or dental restoratives. Most studies have making use of a relatively flexible ester and the hydrolytically labile derivative pentaerythritoltetra(3‐mercaptopropionate) (PETMP) as the thiol component in common. In this study, the performance of hydrolytically stable 1,3,5‐tris(3‐mercaptopropyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4,6‐trione (4a), 1,3,5‐tris(2‐methyl‐3‐mercapto‐propyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4,6‐trione (4b), and oligomers thereof in thiol‐ene photopolymerizations is investigated. The oligomers are prepared via thiol‐Michael or thiol‐isocyanate additions by using 4a and suitable diacrylates or diisocyanates containing a rigid core structure. Compared with PETMP, the thiol derivative 4a shows better flexural strength and modulus of elasticity in thiol‐ene photopolymerizations with 1,3,5‐triallyl‐1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4,6‐trione (TATATO) as the‐ene derivative. This phenomenon becomes especially evident after storage in water at 37 °C for 24 h. Furthermore, the performance regarding the flexural strength, the Young's modulus of elasticity, the polymerization shrinkage stress of 4a, and the polyadducts thereof in dental filling composites is evaluated and discussed.

An obstacle for wider application of 3D printed parts is their inferior mechanical performance compared with those from conventional fabrication. This research aims to overcome this deficiency by developing nanostructured PLA/clay composite filaments that are 3D printable by the FFF technique, investigating the effect of filament composition on mechanical properties, and correlating it with the extent of intercalation of different types of clay. The results showed the addition of 5wt% organomodified clay to PLA raised the elastic and flexural modulus by 10% and 14% respectively. Einstein's composite theory did not hold for the PLA/organoclay composites but the Halpin-Tsai model was successful in interpreting the measured moduli of the organoclays. The model also showed that increasing the clay intercalation was much more effective than raising the total clay content.

SummaryThiol–ene photopolymerizations gain a growing interest in academic research. Coatings and dental restoratives are interesting applications for thiol–ene photopolymerizations due to their unique features. In most studies the relative flexible and hydrophilic ester derivative, namely pentaerythritoltetra(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP), is investigated as the thiol component. Thus, in the present study we are encouraged to investigate the performance of more hydrophobic ester-free thiol-modified bis- and trisphenol derivatives in thiol–ene photopolymerizations. For this, six different thiol-modified bis- and trisphenol derivatives exhibiting four to six thiol groups are synthesized via the radical addition of thioacetic acid to suitable allyl-modified precursors and subsequent hydrolysis. Compared to PETMP better flexural strength and modulus of elasticity are achievable in thiol–ene photopolymerizations employing 1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-trione (TATATO) as the ene derivative. Especially, after storage in water, the flexural strength and modulus of elasticity is twice as high compared to the PETMP reference system.

SummaryIn this work we report the synthesis of thermo-, oxidation- and cyclodextrin- (CD) responsive end-group-functionalized polymers, based on N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEAAm). In a classical free-radical chain transfer polymerization, using thiol-functionalized 4-alkylphenols, namely 3-(4-(1,1-dimethylethan-1-yl)phenoxy)propane-1-thiol and 3-(4-(2,4,4-trimethylpentan-2-yl)phenoxy)propane-1-thiol, poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) (PDEAAm) with well-defined hydrophobic end-groups is obtained. These end-group-functionalized polymers show different cloud point values, depending on the degree of polymerization and the presence of randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin (RAMEB-CD). Additionally, the influence of the oxidation of the incorporated thioether linkages on the cloud point is investigated. The resulting hydrophilic sulfoxides show higher cloud point values for the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). A high degree of functionalization is supported by 1H NMR-, SEC-, FTIR- and MALDI–TOF measurements.