4D Printing of a Novel Fully Biodegradable Plastic: Poly(Propylene Carbonate Phthalate) ( PPC ‐P)

ABSTRACT 4D printing, an emerging manufacturing technique incorporating a temporal dimension to enable shape/property evolution under stimuli, has gathered significant interest. However, biodegradable polymers suitable for low‐cost fused deposition modeling (FDM)‐based 4D printing that simultaneously combine low warpage, balanced mechanical strength, and stable thermal‐responsive shape memory performance are still scarce. CO 2 ‐incorporated aliphatic‐aromatic copolyesters tailored for low‐cost FDM‐based 4D printing have not been systematically investigated. This study investigates the FDM process optimization, performance characterization, and 4D printing potential of a novel biodegradable polymer, poly‐(propylene carbonate phthalate) (PPC‐P). Key FDM parameters were determined as printing temperature 170°C–190°C, printing speed 40–50 mm/s, layer height 0.1–0.2 mm. The raster angle significantly affects mechanical performance: specimens printed at 90° raster angle achieve a maximum tensile strength of 33.1 MPa. Single‐edge‐notch three‐point‐bending tests confirm that intralayer bonding ( G fe = 2.62 kJ/m 2 ) is superior to interlayer bonding ( G fe = 1.67 kJ/m 2 ). The high‐precision FDM fabrication of PPC‐P was successfully achieved. Crucially, the printed specimens exhibit satisfactory thermally responsive shape memory effect: complete shape recovery ( R r reached 96.5%) occurs rapidly in 45°C water bath. This work provides a promising new biodegradable material option for FDM based 4D printing, with applications in temperature sensors and soft robotics.