UV-curable thiol-ene system for broadband infrared transparent objects.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38104167.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-44273-0 and PMC identifier 10725491.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Conventional infrared transparent materials, including inorganic ceramic, glass, and sulfur-rich organic materials, are usually processed through thermal or mechanical progress. Here, we report a photo-curable liquid material based on a specially designed thiol-ene strategy, where the multithiols and divinyl oligomers were designed to contain only C, H, and S atoms. This approach ensures transparency in a wide range spectrum from visible light to mid-wave infrared (MWIR), and to long-wave infrared (LWIR). The refractive index, thermal properties, and mechanical properties of samples prepared by this thiol-ene resin were characterized. Objects transparent to LWIR and MWIR were fabricated by molding and two-photon 3D printing techniques. We demonstrated the potential of our material in a range of applications, including the fabrication of IR optics with high imaging resolution and the construction of micro-reactors for temperature monitoring. This UV-curable thiol-ene system provides a fast and convenient alternative for the fabrication of thin IR transparent objects.