Polyglycerol Systems in Additive Manufacturing: Structure, Properties, and Processing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) demands materials that combine precise printability with reliable thermal and mechanical performance. Polyglycerol (PG)-based macromolecular systems offer exceptional tunability through controlled architecture and chemical modification, enabling their use across both light-based and extrusion AM platforms. Strategic enhancements such as chemical functionalization, network formation, and hybrid reinforcement have expanded their capabilities from biomedical to structural applications, delivering improved stability, strength, and functionality. Despite these advances, performance-processing trade-offs and dispersion challenges remain barriers to widespread adoption. This review synthesizes current knowledge on PG-based materials in AM, mapping key structure-property-processing relationships and identifying strategies to advance their development as versatile and sustainable options for next-generation manufacturing.