Photoinduced Cationic Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer 3D Printing Using ‘Green’ Chain Transfer Agent

Ying Zhu; Wen-Hui Li; Shu-Han Ling; Fukuda Shinichiroh; Zhi-Hua He; Jia-Jia Li; Jian Zhu

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3845-9

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Photoinduced Cationic Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer 3D Printing Using ‘Green’ Chain Transfer Agent

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-11-13

- Photoinduced Cationic Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer 3D Printing Using ‘Green’ Chain Transfer Agent
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Pages: 1-7(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
  b.Taiyo Ink Suzhou Co. Ltd., Suzhou 215129, China
  c.Analysis and Testing Center, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
- Author bio：
  
  chemjjli@suda.edu.cn (J.J.L.)
  chemzhujian@suda.edu.cn (J.Z.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3845-9
  CLC：
- Received：28 July 2026，
  
  Accepted：13 August 2026，
  
  Online First：12 November 2026，
  
  Published：2026-09
- Accepted：
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Zhu, Y.; Li, W. H.; Ling, S. H.; Shinichiroh, F.; He, Z. H.; Li, J. J.; Zhu, J. Photoinduced cationic reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer 3D printing using ‘green’ chain transfer agent. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3845-9

Ying Zhu, Wen-Hui Li, Shu-Han Ling, et al. Photoinduced Cationic Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer 3D Printing Using ‘Green’ Chain Transfer Agent[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-7.
Zhu, Y.; Li, W. H.; Ling, S. H.; Shinichiroh, F.; He, Z. H.; Li, J. J.; Zhu, J. Photoinduced cationic reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer 3D printing using ‘green’ chain transfer agent. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3845-9 DOI：

Ying Zhu, Wen-Hui Li, Shu-Han Ling, et al. Photoinduced Cationic Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer 3D Printing Using ‘Green’ Chain Transfer Agent[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-7. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3845-9.

摘要

Abstract

The integration of reversible deactivation polymerization mechanisms into three-dimensional (3D) printing offers unique opportunities to construct living polymer networks with tunable properties and post-fabrication modification capabilities. However

conventional reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agents typically exhibit strong visible-light absorption

resulting in undesirable coloration that limits their use in optical and transparent applications. Herein

we report a photoinduced radical-promoted cationic RAFT (RPC-RAFT) polymerization system employing a colorless “green” chain transfer agent (CTA) for digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing. Controlled polymerization of various vinyl ethers was achieved within minutes under 405 nm irradiation

affording polymers with predictable molecular weights (

=5000–15800 g·mol

–1

) and relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. Moreover

photocurable resins suitable for DLP printing were developed

enabling fabrication of complex architectures The resulting objects exhibited excellent shape fidelity and tunable mechanical properties

establishing a practical strategy for colorless and transparent living 3D printing and expands the scope of cationic RAFT polymerization for advanced additive manufacturing applications.

关键词

Keywords

references

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