Role of heat generation and thermal diffusion during frontal photopolymerization
File(s)PhysRevE.92.022403.pdf (873 KB)
Published version
Author(s)
Hennessy, M
Vitale, A
Cabral, JT
Matar, OK
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Frontal photopolymerisation (FPP) is a rapid and versatile solidification process that can be used to fabricate complex three-dimensional structures by selectively exposing a photosensitive monomer-rich bath to light. A characteristic feature of FPP is the appearance of a sharp polymerisation front that propagates into the bath as a planar travelling wave. In this paper, we introduce a theoretical model to determine how heat generation during photopolymerisation influences the kinetics of wave propagation as well as the monomer-to-polymer conversion profile, both of which are relevant for FPP applications and experimentally measurable. When thermal diffusion is sufficiently fast relative to the rate of polymerisation, the system evolves as if it were isothermal. However, when thermal diffusion is slow, a thermal wavefront develops and propagates at the same rate as the polymerisation front. This leads to an accumulation of heat behind the polymerisation front which can result in a significant sharpening of the conversion profile and acceleration of the growth of the solid. Our results also suggest that a novel way to tailor the dynamics of FPP is by imposing a temperature gradient along the growth direction.
Date Issued
2015-08-10
Date Acceptance
2015-06-02
Citation
Physical Review E, 2015, 92 (2), pp.022403-022403
ISSN
1539-3755
Publisher
American Physical Society
Start Page
022403
End Page
022403
Journal / Book Title
Physical Review E
Volume
92
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2015 The Authors. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of
this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published
article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of
this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published
article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.
License URL
Identifier
http://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.92.022403
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ED11460