Improvement of Interlayer Adhesion and Heat Resistance of Biodegradable Ternary Blend Composite 3D Printing

Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) filaments have been the most used in fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. The filaments, based on PLA, are continuing to be developed to overcome brittleness, low heat resistance, and obtain superior mechanical performance in 3D printing. From our previous study, the binary blend composites from PLA and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) with nano talc (PLA/PBAT/nano talc) at 70/30/10 showed an improvement in toughness and printability in FDM 3D printing. Nevertheless, interlayer adhesion, anisotropic characteristics, and heat resistance have been promoted for further application in FDM 3D printing. In this study, binary and ternary blend composites from PLA/PBAT and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) with nano talc were prepared at a ratio of PLA 70 wt. % and blending with PBAT or PBS at 30 wt. % and nano talc at 10 wt. %. The materials were compounded via a twin-screw extruder and applied to the filament using a capillary rheometer. PLA/PBAT/PBS/nano talc blend composites were printed using FDM 3D printing. Thermal analysis, viscosity, interlayer adhesion, mechanical properties, and dimensional accuracy of binary and ternary blend composite 3D prints were investigated. The incorporation of of PBS-enhanced crystallinity of the blend composite 3D prints resulted in an improvement to mechanical properties, heat resistance, and anisotropic characteristics. Flexibility of the blend composites was obtained by presentation of PBAT. It should be noted that the core–shell morphology of the ternary blend influenced the reduction of volume shrinkage, which obtained good surface roughness and dimensional accuracy in the ternary blend composite 3D printing.

Binary Green Blends of Poly(lactic acid) with Poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) and Poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) and Their Nanocomposites

“…The improvement of mechanical properties of PLA attained by blending with PBAT or PBSA, as well by addition of nanofillers, pushed development of these materials as filaments for 3D printing. PLA/PBAT and PLA/PBSA blends were investigated by a number of researchers, to test their suitability as 3D printing material, either as binary blends, or as compatibilized formulations [181][182][183][184], as well as containing micro-and nanofillers [185][186][187].…”

Rheological Behavior and Dynamic Mechanical Properties for Interpretation of Layer Adhesion in FDM 3D Printing

“…FDM 3D printing products have formed by the layer-by-layer deposition, which exhibited anisotropic characteristic and drawbacks such as poor interlayer adhesion, incomplete printing, shrinkage and low dimension accuracy resulting in low mechanical performance and their structural failure [3,5,[7][8][9]. The selection of filaments and the controlled printing conditions can be optimized for improving the drawbacks and obtaining superior mechanical performance of the FDM 3D printing products [1,2,[10][11][12]. Polymer filaments are feedstocks for the FDM 3D printing.…”

Biodegradable PGA/PBAT Blends for 3D Printing: Material Performance and Periodic Minimal Surface Structures

“…Moreover, its ductility was improved for the incorporation of PBAT, which was superior to neat PLA. In previous researches, some elastomeric polymers such PBS, PBAT and other polyesters were also applied to blend with PLA to overcome the inherent brittleness [40]. However, the mechanical properties of binary PLA-based materials were inferior to PGA/PBAT (85/15) prepared in the current work.…”