Sustainable Materials and Chemical Processes for Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) is energizing the fields of chemistry and materials science to develop new inks for new applications within fields such as aerospace, robotics, and healthcare. AM enables the fabrication of innumerable 3D geometries that cannot be easily produced by other means. In spite of the great promise of AM as an advanced form of future manufacturing, there are still fundamental challenges with respect to sustainability that need to be addressed. Some of the material needs for AM include sustainable sources of printing inks, resins, and filaments, as well as pathways for polymer recycling, upcycling, and chemical circularity. Furthermore, the combination of biosourced and biodegradable polymers with additive manufacturing could enable the fabrication of objects that can be recycled back into feedstock or degraded into nontoxic products after they have served their function. Herein, we review the recent literature on the design and chemistry of the polymers that enable sustainability within the field of AM, with a particular focus on biodegradable and biosourced polymers. We also discuss some of the sustainability-related applications that have emerged as a result of AM technologies.