Oxidative Degradation of Thermosets Based on Thioketal Cleavable Linkages in Aqueous Environment

Thermosets are rigid, infusible, and unmolded materials containing three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked structures. They are considered a fundamental pillar in the international economy, which are produced by 65 million tons annually. The responsive cross-linking moieties provide the thermosets characterized with outstanding physicochemical properties such as stiffness, degradability, and chemical and thermal resistance. We prepared degradable thermoset materials using thioketal (TK) cross-linkers, which underwent main-chain or side change degradation in the presence of hydrogen peroxide in water. TK cross-linkers at different concentrations (5, 10, and 20% wt %) were polymerized with 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) or with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (PD) to produce cross-linked poly(HEA) and poly(HEMA-PD) by free radical polymerization, respectively. The resultant polymer materials completely degraded in hydrogen peroxide/water (3–30%, vol). Using isophorone diisocyanate, we also produced degradable polyurethane based on TK-bearing diol. We prepared a 3D degradable thermoset using the Direct-Ink-Writing (DIW) 3D printing technology, which was charged by diethylene glycol diacrylate (15%, wt %) and a prepolymer (isophorone diisocyanate terminated by acrylate moieties) containing diol-thioketal linkage (15%, wt %). Finally, we found that TK-poly(HEA) underwent microbial degradation by Lactobacillus jensenii at 37 °C, which indicates a benign eco-friendly effect.