Preparation of the polymerizable titania oriented to 3D printing and the laser-induced crystallization

Purpose The titania (titanium dioxide) is one of the important functional additives in the photosensitive resin and encounters the problem of stabilization in the photosensitive resin for 3D printing. This study aims to achieve enhancement in stabilization by preparation of the polymerizable titania and in situ laser-induced crystallization during 3D printing. Design/methodology/approach A type of polymerizable titania (AAEM@TiO2) was designed and prepared from tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) and 2-(acetoacetoxy)ethyl methacrylate (AAEM) via the sol-gel process, which was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra, surface bonding efficiency (SBE) and settling height (H). AAEM acted on both bonding to the titania and polymerization with the monomer in resin for stabilization. The polymerizable titania could be converted to the pigmented titania by means of laser-induced crystallization. The photosensitive resin was then formulated on the basis of optimization and used in a stereolithography apparatus (SLA) for 3D printing. Findings The stabilization effect of AAEM on TiO2 was achieved and the mechanism of competition in the light-consuming reactions during photocuring was proposed. The ratio of n(AAEM)/n(TBT) in AAEM@TiO2, the concentration of AAEM@TiO2 and photoinitiator (PI) used in the photosensitive resin were optimized. The anatase crystal form was indicated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and clustering of nanocrystals was revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after SLA 3D printing. Originality/value This investigation provides a novel method of pigmentation by preparation of the polymerizable titania and in situ laser-induced crystallization for SLA 3D printing.