Material investigations on poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate-based hydrogels for additive manufacturing considering different molecular weights

Abstract

The aim of this case study is to generate several poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate-based hydrogels using additive manufacturing process and compare their material properties. A commercial stereolithography system is used to produce the test specimens in accordance with ISO standards. Three formulations will be prepared for this purpose. The basis in each case is PEGDA with average molecular weights of 700 Mn, 575 Mn and 250 Mn. A photoinitiator and an UV absorber are added to ensure spatial and temporal crosslinking. Subsequently, the formulations are investigated for their material properties according to ISO standards by means of tensile, compression and hardness tests, and the influence of the molecular weights is determined.