Ahmad Khalid Haj, Mohamad Zurina, Khan Zahid Iqbal
Enhanced Polymer Research Group, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Skudai 81310, Malaysia.
College of Engineering, Alfaisal University, P.O. Box 50927, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia.
Polymers (Basel). 2024 Sep 26;16(19):2721. doi: 10.3390/polym16192721.
This study presents an innovative approach to improving the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of 3D-printed stereolithography (SLA) nanocomposites by incorporating graphene nanoplatelets (xGNP) into photopolymer matrices. Utilizing an SLA 3D printer, photopolymer formulations with xGNP concentrations of up to 0.25 wt% were successfully produced. Post-print curing was carried out using two different methods: ultraviolet (UV) curing and high-temperature curing at 160 °C. Mechanical characterization using nanoindentation showed a significant increase in elastic modulus by 104% and an increase in hardness by 85% for nanocomposites containing 0.25 wt% xGNP. Furthermore, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed a 39% improvement in storage modulus for samples without post-curing and an improvement of approximately 30% for samples subjected to high-temperature curing. These significant improvements highlight xGNP's potential to not only increase the performance of SLA 3D-printed components but also streamline the manufacturing process by reducing or eliminating energy-intensive post-curing steps. This innovative integration of graphene nanoplatelets paves the way for the production of high-performance, functional 3D-printed products and offers significant advances for various industries with a high impact. The results highlight the transformative role of nanomaterials in additive manufacturing and position this work at the forefront of materials science and 3D printing technology.
本研究提出了一种创新方法，通过将石墨烯纳米片（xGNP）掺入光聚合物基体中来改善3D打印立体光刻（SLA）纳米复合材料的机械性能和粘弹性。利用SLA 3D打印机，成功制备了xGNP浓度高达0.25 wt%的光聚合物配方。打印后固化采用两种不同方法：紫外线（UV）固化和160°C高温固化。使用纳米压痕进行的机械表征表明，对于含有0.25 wt% xGNP的纳米复合材料，弹性模量显著增加104%，硬度增加85%。此外，动态力学分析（DMA）显示，未进行后固化的样品储能模量提高了39%，经过高温固化的样品提高了约30%。这些显著改进突出了xGNP的潜力，不仅能提高SLA 3D打印部件的性能，还能通过减少或消除能源密集型后固化步骤来简化制造工艺。石墨烯纳米片的这种创新整合为高性能、功能性3D打印产品的生产铺平了道路，并为具有重大影响的各个行业带来了显著进步。结果突出了纳米材料在增材制造中的变革作用，并使这项工作处于材料科学和3D打印技术的前沿。
