Coming up

10
Jul

3D Printing of Strong and Self-Healing Silicone Vitrimers

Academic or specialist Seminar
10.07.2025 11:00 - 12:00
+ Mixed

Silicones are widely used in applications ranging from medical devices to soft robotics, but conventional silicone parts lack shape complexity, reprocessability, and self-healing properties. In this work, we introduce a versatile platform for 3D printing silicone vitrimers that exhibit intrinsic self-healing, creep resistance, and reprocessability at room temperature. By incorporating dioxaborolane groups into silicone networks, Libanori and his colleagues obtain dynamic covalent networks that enable autonomous self-healing and reconfiguration while minimizing the impact on mechanical properties. These vitrimers are processed using Direct Ink Writing and light-based curing techniques, allowing precise architectural control and tunable mechanical properties. The combination of vitrimer and permanently crosslinked elastomer domains yields layered structures that enhance creep resistance and enable rapid room-temperature healing. Adjusting illumination during photo-curing of the polymer inks provides localized control over stiffness and elasticity within complex architectures. The potential of this approach is showcased through 3D printing of patient-specific vascular phantoms, architecturally designed geometries with mechanical shielding functions, and functional fluidic chambers, highlighting applications in soft robotics, wearable electronics, and medical devices. Overall, their strategy merges molecular design and structural engineering to unlock new possibilities for sustainable, damage-resistant silicone materials.


When? 10.07.2025 11:00 - 12:00
Online

 Online event link

Where? PER 18 Auditorium
Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg 
speaker Dr. Rafael Libanori, ETHZ
Contact NCCR Bio-Inspired Materials
Myriam Marano
myriam.marano@unifr.ch
Chemin des Verdiers 4
1700 Fribourg
+41 26 300 9266
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