Review: photopolymers for additive manufacturing - developments in materials, processes, applications, and future prospects.

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Title: Review: photopolymers for additive manufacturing - developments in materials, processes, applications, and future prospects.
Authors: Gupta, Vivek Kumar1 (AUTHOR), Kumar, Narendra1 (AUTHOR) kumarn@nitj.ac.in
Source: Journal of Materials Science. Jul2026, Vol. 61 Issue 25, p17761-17807. 47p.
Subjects: Photopolymers, Photopolymerization, Three-dimensional printing, Rapid prototyping, Nanocomposite materials, Photochemical curing, Stereolithography
Abstract: The application of photopolymers has grown significantly in the field of additive manufacturing (AM), facilitating rapid solidification, energy-efficient curing, and solvent-free processing of high-resolution structures for biomedical, electronic, and photonic applications. This review article provides a comprehensive investigation of UV-curable photopolymers for additive manufacturing to show studies on photo-curing mechanisms, photopolymers' preparation and processing techniques, and their applications. Photopolymers support high-resolution printing through cross-linking using constituents that comprise monomers, oligomers, photoinitiators, and fillers including bio-derived chemistries and nanocomposite reinforcements such as cellulose nanocrystals and MXenes for cutting-edge applications. Processing techniques of the photopolymer such as stereolithography, digital light processing, two-photon polymerization, CLIP, volumetric printing, and inkjet curing were compared in terms of resolution, speed, and limitations. The printability of photopolymers such as acrylate, epoxy, thiol-ene networks, and functional systems that yield dielectric, conductive, or biocompatible properties was analyzed. Simulations of photopolymers were discussed to understand their curing kinetics behavior. Furthermore, the review offers a critical analysis of existing challenges such as cure depth, shrinkage, stability, toxicity, and scalability and proposes future directions for UV-curing technologies, focusing on issues such as sustainability, durability, and integration with emerging manufacturing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Materials Science is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194006628
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  Data: Review: photopolymers for additive manufacturing - developments in materials, processes, applications, and future prospects.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gupta%2C+Vivek+Kumar%22">Gupta, Vivek Kumar</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kumar%2C+Narendra%22">Kumar, Narendra</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> kumarn@nitj.ac.in</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Materials+Science%22">Journal of Materials Science</searchLink>. Jul2026, Vol. 61 Issue 25, p17761-17807. 47p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photopolymers%22">Photopolymers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photopolymerization%22">Photopolymerization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Three-dimensional+printing%22">Three-dimensional printing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rapid+prototyping%22">Rapid prototyping</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nanocomposite+materials%22">Nanocomposite materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photochemical+curing%22">Photochemical curing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stereolithography%22">Stereolithography</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The application of photopolymers has grown significantly in the field of additive manufacturing (AM), facilitating rapid solidification, energy-efficient curing, and solvent-free processing of high-resolution structures for biomedical, electronic, and photonic applications. This review article provides a comprehensive investigation of UV-curable photopolymers for additive manufacturing to show studies on photo-curing mechanisms, photopolymers' preparation and processing techniques, and their applications. Photopolymers support high-resolution printing through cross-linking using constituents that comprise monomers, oligomers, photoinitiators, and fillers including bio-derived chemistries and nanocomposite reinforcements such as cellulose nanocrystals and MXenes for cutting-edge applications. Processing techniques of the photopolymer such as stereolithography, digital light processing, two-photon polymerization, CLIP, volumetric printing, and inkjet curing were compared in terms of resolution, speed, and limitations. The printability of photopolymers such as acrylate, epoxy, thiol-ene networks, and functional systems that yield dielectric, conductive, or biocompatible properties was analyzed. Simulations of photopolymers were discussed to understand their curing kinetics behavior. Furthermore, the review offers a critical analysis of existing challenges such as cure depth, shrinkage, stability, toxicity, and scalability and proposes future directions for UV-curing technologies, focusing on issues such as sustainability, durability, and integration with emerging manufacturing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Materials Science is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10853-026-12891-w
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 47
        StartPage: 17761
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Photopolymers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Photopolymerization
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Three-dimensional printing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Rapid prototyping
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nanocomposite materials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Photochemical curing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stereolithography
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Review: photopolymers for additive manufacturing - developments in materials, processes, applications, and future prospects.
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            NameFull: Gupta, Vivek Kumar
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            NameFull: Kumar, Narendra
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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