Curable composition for use in a high temperature lithography-based photopolymerization process and method of producing crosslinked polymers therefrom

A curable composition, comprising:

• a toughness modifier, the toughness modifier comprising a first polymerizable oligomer having a number average molecular weight of greater than 5 kDa, wherein the first polymerizable oligomer comprises an aliphatic urethane (meth)acrylate including at least two polymerizable groups;
• a crosslinker, the crosslinker comprising a second polymerizable oligomer having a number average molecular weight of 0.4 to 5 kDa and a higher glass transition temperature than the toughness modifier, wherein the second polymerizable oligomer comprises an aliphatic methacrylate including one or more cycloaliphatic rings;
• and
• a reactive diluent, the reactive diluent comprising a polymerizable compound having a molecular weight of 0.1 to 1.0 kDa, wherein the polymerizable compound comprises a (meth)acrylate or di(meth)acrylate compound,
• wherein the curable composition is incorporated into a crosslinked polymer, wherein the crosslinked polymer forms an orthodontic appliance, and
• wherein the curable composition comprises 5 to 50 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of the crosslinker, 20 to 50 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of the toughness modifier and 5 to 50 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of the reactive diluent, wherein the content of the toughness modifier is such that the crosslinked polymer has an elongation at break greater than or equal to 5% when measured according to ISO 527-2 5B, optionally at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min, the content of the crosslinker is such that the crosslinked polymer has a glass transition temperature greater than 90° C., and the content of the reactive diluent is such that a viscosity of the composition is 1 to 70 Pa·s at 110° C.