Photopolymerization is one of the most promising technologies for the advanced manufacturing of polymers. It is a flexible method meeting the latest demands of Industry 4.0, notably with the breakthrough of 3D-printing by stereolithography (SLA, DLP). If the field has long been dominated by radical chemistry, it is currently experiencing a regain of interest for step-wise photo polymerizations based on radical-free reactions. In this exciting scientific context, the idea of the PICADDILY project is to develop a photo-polyaddition reaction enabling the synthesis of Non Isocyanate Polyurethanes (NIPUs). The polyaddition of 5-membered cyclic carbonates (5CCs) and amines is arguably the most promising reaction for the synthesis of NIPUs. But the study of the 5CC-amine reaction has always been restricted to thermo-activated approaches. The idea here is to introduce the 5CC-amine chemistry to the field of photo-chemistry. A toolbox of tailor made monomers and photocatalysts will be conceived to address this challenge. This multi disciplinary project lays at the frontiers of photo-chemistry, polymer science and 3D-printing technology. It has the ambition to produce high-impact research articles and it is fully funded by the French Agence National de la Recherche (ANR).

Publié le 03/03/2024