AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026160142
REVIEW ARTICLE
Early Access

3D-printed elastomeric materials: Matrix innovation, functional expansion, and advances in multifield applications

Ruiqi Liang1 Tongyi Wu1 Qiaoling Zhang1 Meng Wang1 Mengjie Qi1 Yanjun Zhao1 Rong Li1 Zeyu Wang1 Yuhui Liu2* Guoqiao Lai1* Qiu Chen1*
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1 College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311100, China
2 National Petroleum and Natural Gas Pipeline Network Group Co., Ltd, Yunnan Branch, China
Received: 17 April 2026 | Revised: 12 May 2026 | Accepted: 19 May 2026 | Published online: 19 May 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM, commonly known as 3D printing) has gained widespread adoption across diverse fields owing to its high precision, capability to directly fabricate complex geometries, and support for personalized customization. Elastomeric polymers, which combine excellent elastic recovery with multifunctional properties, have converged with 3D printing to establish the emerging field of 3D-printed elastomers, thereby overcoming limitations of traditional manufacturing in design freedom and functional integration. This review systematically surveys advances in 3D-printed elastomers over the past five years. It focuses on the characteristics and suitability of mainstream processes, including material extrusion, material jetting, and photopolymerization, and provides detailed classifications of polyurethane-based, silicone-based, polyolefin-based, and bio-based matrix materials. The design and processing principles, core breakthroughs and current technical bottlenecks of functional elastomers are comprehensively outlined, while summarizing demonstrated applications in biomedicine, flexible electronics, soft robotics, industrial manufacturing, and consumer products. Nevertheless, key challenges remain for 3D-printed elastomers, including balancing competing material properties, reconciling process throughput with dimensional precision, ensuring reliability in extreme environments, and enabling large-scale manufacturing. The review concludes by outlining future directions, such as the design of dynamic and adaptive polymer networks, development of green and sustainable materials, and convergence-driven interdisciplinary innovation, thereby providing guidance for future research and industrial translation.

Keywords
Additive manufacturing
3D-printed elastomer materials
Matrix materials
Multifunctionality
Multi-application fields
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing