Nanoscale Features of Zeolite Fillers Enhance the Depth of Cure, Optical Properties, and Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Polymer Composite Structures

Abstract

3D printing provides the possibility for the preparation of structured zeolite nanomaterial monoliths, which can overcome the drawback of limited forms obtained from conventional shaping methods and make more efficient use of this material. Compared to other techniques, photopolymerization presents many advantages such as being environmentally friendly, having low energy consumption, and having excellent spatial and temporal controls. Nevertheless, a photocurable system with fillers still faces challenge for the light penetration issue. In this paper, the effect of different characteristics of LTA zeolite (crystal size and molar Si/Al ratio) are discussed. The results demonstrate that compared to microfillers, nanosized particles lead to better depth of cure (DOC), optical properties, and mechanical properties for the composites. Furthermore, the Si/Al ratio of LTA zeolites under study (1 ≤ Si/Al ≤ 2.8) also has an impact on the DOC, optical property of the composites, and the photopolymerization conversion. 3D printed zeolite-embedded monoliths were tested for water vapor sorption in nanopores (60 °C, relative humidity = 50%). This work enables a better understanding toward the fabrication of zeolite nanomaterials/polymer based composites by photopolymerization. It will expand the potential applications for 3D printing and zeolite shaping for applications in several domains such as decontamination and catalysis and in the biomedical field.