3D printing technology has recently gained tremendous interest and has applications in both industry and daily life, especially the stereolithography (SLA) technique. However, the defective properties of photopolymers restrict the development of SLA. In this paper, we report a method for enhancing the properties of a photosensitive resin by adding inorganic fillers (calcium sulfate whiskers and calcium sulfate particles, named CSW and CSP). Both kinds of fillers were firstly coated with chitosan and then modified by acryloyl chloride. FTIR, water contact angle (WCA) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis showed that the modification was successful. The optimum concentration of chitosan solution was determined by studying the mechanical performance. The photocuring kinetics of the resins with different filler contents were studied via real-time IR spectroscopy, which provided insights into the effect of inorganic fillers on the photopolymerization reaction. Mechanical properties were determined based on the samples printed using a SLA 3D printer and the results showed that the tensile strength and impact strength of the cured samples containing 5% modified CSW were increased by 19.4% and 6.6%, respectively, and those of the cured samples containing 10% modified CSP were increased by 35.5% and 41.6%, respectively, compared to the cured pure resin. The improvement of the tensile strength can be observed from the tensile fracture surface as well. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that the storage modulus, glass transition temperature (T_g) and the resulting crosslinking density of the samples containing modified fillers were lower than those of the cured pure resin, but higher than those of their counterparts, i.e. samples containing unmodified fillers. This work demonstrated a simple and convenient way to strengthen photocuring materials both in terms of tensile strength and impact strength and the printed models exhibited high accuracy and resolution, indicating that the hybrid photopolymers could be a promising candidate for SLA 3D printing.

Superhydrophobic coatings have increasingly become the focal point of research due to their distinctive properties like water resistance, wear resistance, and acid-base resilience. In pursuit of maximizing their efficiency, research has primarily revolved around refining the fabrication process and the composition of emulsion/nanoparticle coatings. We innovatively devised a superhydrophobic coating by employing a spraying technique. This involved integrating a γ-Methacryloyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570)-modified ZrO₂/SiO₂/silicone-modified acrylic emulsion. A comprehensive evaluation of this coating was undertaken using analytical instruments such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The coating demonstrated exceptional performance across a range of tests, including wear, immersion, and anti-icing cleaning, showcasing notable wear resistance, sodium chloride corrosion resistance, self-cleaning efficiency, and thermal stability. In particular, one coating exhibited super-hydrophobic properties, with a high contact angle of 158.5 degrees and an impressively low rolling angle of 1.85 degrees. This remarkable combination of properties is attributed to the judicious selection of components, which significantly reinforced the mechanical strength of the coating. These enhancements make it highly suitable for industrial applications where self-cleaning, anti-icing, and anti-contamination capabilities are critical.

This study presents and evaluates hybrid photopolymers applied to 3D printing. To obtain the hybrid system, epoxy acrylates (EA), epoxy resins and photoinitiators were compounded. As inorganic fillers are traditionally used to improve mechanical properties, calcium sulphate whiskers (CSW) coated with chitosan (CS) were modified by acryloyl chloride and the effects of the modification on hybrid photopolymers were investigated. The viscosity and volume shrinkage of the hybrid system were also evaluated. Fourier transform infrared measurements showed that hybrid photopolymers had a higher conversion. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties showed that the tensile strength of the cured samples containing 7% modified CSW was increased by 28% compared to that of pure resin. Additionally, the improvement of interface interaction between modified whiskers and hybrid photopolymers was observed by a scanning electron microscope. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the hybrid system, with the addition of 7% modified whiskers, exhibited a higher storage modulus and crosslinking density. This work, the first to use modified CSW on 3D printing to enhance the tensile strength of hybrid photopolymers, demonstrates that the photocured samples can contribute to high accuracy and resolution.

A porous carbon with a high surface of up to 3142 m² g⁻¹ was synthesized by using a hypercrosslinked polymer (HCP-BHMB) as a precursor. Due to the large surface area and hierarchically porous structure, both HCP-BHMB and its derived porous carbon (HCP-BHMB-K-800) can be employed as supporting substrates to immobilize Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The as-prepared Ag@HCP-BHMB-K-800 nanocatalyst exhibits superior catalytic activity compared to most other reported Ag-based catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol.