Closed‐Loop Recycling and Reprinting of Vat‐Photopolymerized Thermosetting Resins: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Photocurable additive manufacturing offers high precision but uses irreversible resins that form thermosetting structures, hindering reprocessing and circular manufacturing. This review critically examines recent advances in closed‐loop remanufacturing of photocurable resins, with a comparative focus on structural features, stimulus–response characteristics, and scalability potential of representative dynamic covalent bonds. Additive migration, degradation, and accumulation degrade mechanical properties, transparency, and printing accuracy. Optimization strategies, including fresh resin replenishment, selective bond cleavage, and process purification, enable resin recovery and nondestructive filler recycling. Key bottlenecks for industrial application include trade‐offs between recyclability and thermomechanical stability, interference from residual chromophores on photoresponse, and progressive loss of homogeneity and resolution after repeated cycles. Future directions point to catalyst‐free dynamic systems, bio‐based smart resins, and AI‐driven digital twins for full lifecycle management.