Abstract
In this study, PEEK nanocomposites with 0, 0.5, 1, and 2wt% IF-WS2 were manufactured by injection moulding and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). To compare the impact of the two processing methods and the incorporated nanoparticles on the morphology, crystallization and final mechanical properties of the nanocomposites, SEM, DSC and tensile testing were performed. In general, a good distribution of nanoparticles was observed in PEEK, although larger agglomerates were visible at 2 wt% IF-WS2. The crystallization degree of PEEK increased with increasing loading of IF-WS2 nanoparticles up to 1wt% and then declined at 2 wt%, due to lower level of particle dispersion in this sample. The 3D printed samples showed slightly higher crystallinity at each IF-WS2 loading in relation to the injection moulded samples and extruded filaments, because of multiple reheating effect from subsequent layer deposition during FDM, causing recrystallization. In general, incorporation of IF-WS2 nanoparticles increased the mechanical properties of pure PEEK in both 3D printed and injection moulded samples. However, this increment was more noticeable in the 3D-printed nanocomposite samples, resulting in smaller gap between the mechanical properties of the 3D-printed samples and the injection moulded counterparts, in respect to pure PEEK, particularly at 1 wt% IF-WS2. This effect is ascribed to the increased inter-layer bonding of PEEK in the presence of IF-WS2 nanoparticles in FDM. In general, the lower mechanical properties of the 3D printed samples compared with the injection moulded ones are ascribed to poor interlayer bonding between the deposited layers and the presence of voids. However, addition of just 1 wt% of IF-WS2 nanoparticles into PEEK increased the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the FDM PEEK materials to similar levels to those achieved for unfilled injection moulded PEEK. Therefore, incorporation of IF-WS2 nanoparticles into PEEK is a useful strategy to improve the mechanical performance of FDM PEEK.
Highlights
Owing to their high thermal and chemical stability, exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, and recyclability, high performance thermoplastic polymers, such as Polysulfone (PSU), polyetherimide (PEI), and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) are becoming increasingly attractive in competition with metals and ceramics for load bearing applications under harsh operating conditions (Wiesli and Özcan, 2015; Al Christopher et al, 2021)
The objective of this study is to reduce the gap between the mechanical properties of the 3D-printed and injection moulded parts using IF-WS2 nanoparticles to address the low interlayer bonding strength Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D-printed parts, as one of the prominent challenges in additive manufacturing
A comparison was made between the mechanical properties of high-performance PEEK nanocomposites with loadings of 0.5, 1, and 2 wt% IF-WS2, fabricated by two different methods: injection moulding and 3D printing (FDM)
Summary
Owing to their high thermal and chemical stability, exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, and recyclability, high performance thermoplastic polymers, such as Polysulfone (PSU), polyetherimide (PEI), and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) are becoming increasingly attractive in competition with metals and ceramics for load bearing applications under harsh operating conditions (Wiesli and Özcan, 2015; Al Christopher et al, 2021). Nanofillers are added to polymers to further improve their thermal, mechanical and optical properties, depending on the type of filler (Aradhana et al, 2018; Golbang et al, 2020; Mokhtari et al, 2021a). Incorporation of fillers into high-performance polymers for improving their performance may further increase melt viscosity creating potential problems in achieving sufficient power to process the material and risking thermal/shear degradation of the polymer. The type, amount, and size of filler, as well as the processing method should be chosen carefully when developing high-performance nanocomposites (Díez-Pascual et al, 2012; Valino et al, 2019; Golbang et al, 2020; Mokhtari et al, 2021b; Manzoor et al, 2021)
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