Effect of Visible Light Absorber Containing Quinoline Yellow, Azorubine and Green S on Process Control in Microstereolithography

Abstract:

A visible light absorber containing the colorants Quinoline Yellow, Azorubine and Green S was used as an additive for process control in a microstereolithography process operating under visible light. An aqueous solution containing the three dyestuffs was added in concentrations of 0.1 to 5.0 wt% to a photopolymerizable hydrogel. A series of experiments showed that a minimum concentration of 2.0 wt% of the dye solution and an exposure dose of 100 mJ/cm² were prerequisites to produce utilizable results on the setup used. Full curing and excellent cure-depth control were only achieved at the highest of the tested concentrations of 5.0 wt% dye solution. The working curve derived for the latter concentration suggested that an exposure dose of 147.6 mJ/cm² was required to cure an exactly 100-micrometer thin layer. Furthermore, addition of the absorber improved the elasticity of the produced structures from an average modulus of 38.2 MPa at 2% to 30.6 MPa at 5% dye concentration. These results demonstrated that broadband absorbers could be useful as low-cost additives for cure-depth control in photopolymerizable hydrogel materials.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 753)
• Pages: 194-199
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.753.194
• Online since: August 2017
• Authors: Robert Bail*
• Keywords: Cure Depth, E104, E122, E142, Microstereolithography, Stiffness, Strength

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