Articles and methods related to labile crosslinking moieties

1. A method comprising:

providing a structurally self-supporting material comprising a polymeric material, wherein the polymeric material comprises a silyl-ether triacrylate polymer of the partial structure:

wherein:

any of R 1 , R 1 ′, and R 1 ″ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of —H, —CH 3 , C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, hydroxyl, thiol, amino, carbonyl, and combinations thereof;

any of R 2 , R 2 ′, and R 2 ″ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, and combinations thereof;

R 3 is selected from the group consisting of —H, —CH 3 , C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, hydroxyl, thiol, amino, and combinations thereof; and

n is greater than or equal to 2; and

exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O, and converting at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to a non-structurally self-supporting material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the structurally self-supporting material comprises providing the structurally self-supporting material on a substrate.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein providing the structurally self-supporting material comprises three-dimensional (3D) printing the structurally self-supporting material on the substrate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein reacting at least a portion of the polymeric material comprises hydrolyzing at least a portion of the polymeric material.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the structurally self-supporting material has a Young's modulus between greater than or equal to 1 GPa and less than or equal to 5 GPa.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-structurally self-supporting material has a Young's modulus between less than or equal to 1 GPa and greater than or equal to 0.01 GPa.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O comprises at least partially submerging the structurally self-supporting material in water.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O comprises exposing the structurally self-supporting material to moisture.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O comprises exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O for an amount of time greater than or equal to 0.5 hours and less than or equal to 72 hours.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the Young's modulus of the non-structurally self-supporting material is inversely proportional to the amount of time that the structurally self-supporting material is exposed to H 2 O.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O comprises exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O at a temperature greater than or equal to 25° C. and less than or equal to 150° C.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the Young's modulus of the non-structurally self-supporting material is inversely proportional to the temperature at which that the structurally self-supporting material is exposed to H 2 O.

13. A method comprising:

providing a structurally self-supporting material comprising a polymeric material, wherein the polymeric material comprises a silyl-ether tetraacrylate polymer of the partial structure:

wherein:

any of R 1 , R 1 ′, R 1 ″, and R 1 ′″ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of —H, —CH 3 , C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, hydroxyl, thiol, amino, carbonyl, and combinations thereof;

any of R 2 , R 2 ′, R 2 ″, and R 2 ′″ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, and combinations thereof; and

n is greater than or equal to 2; and

exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O, thereby reacting at least a portion of the polymeric material and converting at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to a non-structurally self-supporting material.

14. A method comprising:

providing a structurally self-supporting material comprising a polymeric material, wherein the polymeric material comprises a thioether of the partial structure:

wherein:

R 1 and R 1 ′ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of —H, —CH 3 , C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, hydroxyl, thiol, amino, carbonyl, and combinations thereof;

R 2 and R 2 ′ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, and combinations thereof;

R 3 and R 3 ′ are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of —H, —CH 3 , C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, hydroxyl, thiol, amino, and combinations thereof;

R 4 is selected from the group consisting of —CH 3 , C 1-10 alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, acyl, carbocyclyl, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halo, hydroxyl, amino, carbonyl, thiol-containing derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof; and

n is greater than or equal to 2; and

exposing at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to H 2 O, thereby reacting at least a portion of the polymeric material and converting at least a portion of the structurally self-supporting material to a non-structurally self-supporting material.