Achieving improved dielectric, mechanical, and thermal properties of additive manufactured parts via filament modification using OMMT-based nanocomposite

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is as an emerging technique which can fabricate any complex shapes and is currently being used to directly manufacture end-use products. However, further progress in AM greatly relies on the advancements in materials that can be processed by this technique. Polymer nanocomposites are known for their superior properties compared to pristine polymer. Organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) is a versatile nanoparticle which has the potential to significantly alter various polymer properties. The present work discusses about utilizing OMMT-based polymer nanocomposite for AM via fused deposition modeling (FDM). The acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament was modified by coating it with OMMT/ABS nanocomposite solution and further exposed to microwave irradiation before AM process. A fused network of nanocomposite coating with core polymer was developed over the entire part during AM. Dielectric properties of FDM parts were altered because of the presence of OMMT nanoparticles, as their ionic nature provided addition polarization mechanism. A significant improvement in thermal behavior, tensile modulus, and hardness was also observed. The presented approach provides an efficient way to improve the desired properties of FDM parts.

Carbon Nanotube-Based Composite Filaments for 3D Printing of Structural and Conductive Elements

“…To develop the composite material, it is necessary to determine the suitable polymer matrix, which is primarily responsible for the mechanical and rheological properties of the filament, and the functional phase that will improve the mechanical properties while maintaining appropriate processing properties of the composite. In the literature, there are examples of using functional phases in the form of continuous carbon, glass and other fibers [18][19][20][21][22], short glass fibers [23], carbon fibers [24], and nanocomposite materials [25][26][27][28] in order to improve the mechanical properties of FDM printed parts. The application of the appropriate functional phase allows not only the enhancement of mechanical properties but also the attainment of other unique properties, for example, electrical conductivity [8,[29][30][31].…”

Hybrid Materials for Functional 3D Printing

“…The piezoelectric component with an array shape, barium titanate (BaTiO 3 , BTO), which is difficult to produce by the conventional processes such as etching and dicing, can be fabricated by DLP . 3D printing was applied not only for the production of complex geometry components of dielectric/piezoelectric ceramics, but also for the production of objects composed of dielectric/piezoelectric hybrid materials consisting of inorganic and organic components . This is an important achievement, since the properties of 3D printed structures can be easily controlled by tuning their composition and shape.…”

“…Recently, alumina, titania, and OMMT were also reported as inorganic elements for 3D printed dielectric hybrid materials. Nanocomposite inks composed of alumina nanopowder and styrene‐containing block copolymers and printed by the DIW method (as shown in Figure d) enable obtaining 3D objects having a permittivity of 4.61 and a loss tangent of 0.00298 in the K a ‐band (26.5–40 GHz).…”

“…Francis et al reported on another 3D printed dielectric hybrid material: an ABS filament for FDM printer was coated with an OMMT/ABS hybrid. The coated filament was characterized by improved dielectric, mechanical, and thermal properties.…”