PP/organoclay nanocomposites for fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing

Abstract

3D printing has attracted a lot of attention over the past three decades. In particular the Fuse Filament Fabrication (FFF) technique, general materials require low shrinkage during cooling and viscous behavior during extrusion through a nozzle. Semi-crystalline thermoplastics and their composites are of the relevance of new materials for 3D printing. However, the crystalline structures, for instance, may have a favorable impact on their printability. In this study, polypropylene/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt extrusion using a twin-screw extruder. The effects of organoclay on the thermal, rheological and morphological properties were studied to evaluate the possibility of using the polypropylene/organoclay nanocomposites as the FFF 3D printing feedstock. Dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (D18) was successfully used to modify the clay surfaces, providing a good dispersity and wettability of organoclay in the PP matrix.

Optimization of the Filler Concentration on Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printed Polypropylene with Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposites

“…Interestingly, both the tensile strength and stiffness exhibited an increase for 0.5 wt.%, then a drop for 1 wt.%, which subsequently changed again exhibiting higher strength and stiffness values for 2 wt.% and 4 wt.%, respectively. The tensile strength and modulus of the elasticity results of this study are in agreement with the results from the PP composites presented in the literature [ 17 ]. A similar behavior of using TiO 2 nanoparticles as a filler to enhance the tensile properties of the polymer matrices is also reported in the literature for two different polymers and similar filler concentrations [ 1 , 16 ].…”

“…Additive manufacturing, and especially fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology, has great potential in the development of a sustainable society [ 7 ]. Relatively, research in AM has been conducted on recycling processes of polymers [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] and on mechanical, thermal, electrical and/or other property enhancements, using a wide variety of fillers and nanofillers dispersed in the polymer matrix [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

“…Specifically, PP is characterized as a high-grade engineering material for AM, but it is only recommended for advanced AM users [ 21 ] because it warps easily during the FFF process, and the developed thermal stresses attributed to (i) the 3D printing extruder shear induced crystallization, and (ii) the PP macromolecular chains’ inherent tendency to form crystals on the material coming from the melt to the solid state, resulting in a semi-crystalline polymer [ 22 ]. Hence, research has been conducted into the improvement of PP’s printability [ 17 , 23 ] and their mechanical, thermal, and other properties [ 17 ]. It could be easily realized that polypropylene has a high potential in FFF AM applications; therefore, it was chosen herein as the polymer matrix material for the development of nanocomposites with enhanced 3D printed specimens’ properties.…”

3D Printed Parts of Polylactic Acid Reinforced with Carbon Black and Alumina Nanofillers for Tribological Applications

“…The storage modulus (G′) is a sensitive rheological function related to the structural changes of nanocomposites. [55] Moreover, the storage modulus (G') at low frequency ( ) regime is strongly dependent on the addition of fillers, since the rheological properties at low regime reflect the relaxation and motion of the whole polymer chains. [56] According to the rheological tests, for all samples both moduli increased with frequency, denoting typical viscoelastic behavior.…”

On the Mechanical Response of Silicon Dioxide Nanofiller Concentration on Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printed Isotactic Polypropylene Nanocomposites

“…This is due to the well-known abrupt increase of the polymer melt viscosity, associated with the nanoparticle inclusions hindering the polymer chain mobility in the melt state, which may result in a deteriorated quality of the 3D printed final objects [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. It is of great scientific interest thus to develop polymer (nano-)composites able to be processed through AM technologies without compromising mechanical, thermal and other inherent properties of the matrix host material [ 6 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”