Work

Spatial control of curing kinetics in thiol-ene-systems through antagonistic photoreactions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The use of two wavelengths to activate different photoreactions in a resin system has recently attracted much attention in the scientific community. Here, wavelength orthogonal photochemistry was used to spatially control the curing kinetics of the thiol-ene photopolymerization reaction. In the investigated resin system, radical curing is activated by a type II photoinitiator at 450 nm, while light at 365 nm is used to photorelease a base, resulting in an inhibition of the curing reaction. The antagonistic nature of these photoreactions is demonstrated in laser writing and grey scale patterning experiments. The controlled inhibition and retardation of the thiol-ene curing reaction in a spatial manner paves the way for numerous applications in 3D printing or sub-µm photolithography.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63407-0