Oxygen-rich binder formulation for photocuring 3D printing and its performance

This study presents the preparation and characterization of an oxygen-rich photosensitive binder (ATPE-HC) based on acrylate-terminated polyether (ATPE). This binder serves as a novel matrix material for the vat photopolymerization-based 3D printing of solid propellants. Owing to its higher oxygen balance compared to conventional binders, ATPE-HC can partially replace ammonium perchlorate (AP) in propellant formulations, thereby creating space for incorporating more energetic components (e.g., CL-20, RDX). This contributes to maintaining or even enhancing the energy level. Furthermore, this binder is compatible with photopolymerization-based digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing processes, enabling not only the high-resolution fabrication of complex geometries but also the good applicability for DLP 3D printing of solid propellants. It provides a new material foundation for manufacturing high-performance customized solid propellant grains.