Nano‐sio2‐reinforced ultraviolet‐curing materials for three‐dimensional printing

Abstract

ABSTRACTAs an additive manufacturing technology, ultraviolet (UV)‐curing three‐dimensional printing, which requires the use of a photocurable resin, is increasingly being used to produce customized end‐user parts of many complex shapes. In this study, to improve the strength and ductility of printing materials, nano‐SiO2‐reinforced photocurable resins were prepared by a planetary ball mill; then, the morphology, photochemistry, thermal property, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were investigated and characterized. Transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated that the modified nano‐SiO2 was well dispersed in the photocurable resin. The glass‐transition temperature increased from 67.2°C for the unfilled resin to 71.7 and 80.1°C for nanocomposites with nano‐SiO2 contents of 0.3 and 0.7 wt %, respectively. The tensile strength and impact strength were increased by 46.7 and 165.3% for nanocomposites with 0.3 wt % nano‐SiO2. The flexural modulus of the nanocomposites increased from 1.7 to 8.0 GPa when 0.7 wt % nano‐SiO2 was added to the photocurable resin; this appeared to originate from the relatively high level of dispersion and the intimate combination of the nano‐SiO2 with the matrix. The investigation of the physical and chemical properties of such UV‐curing materials showed that the low filler concentration (<1 wt %) of nano‐SiO2 did not affect the processability of the nanocomposites. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42307.