Abstract
In this study, nanocomposites with polyamide 12 (PA12) as the polymer matrix and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and carbon black (CB) at different loadings (2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 wt.%) as fillers, were produced in 3D printing filament form by melt mixing extrusion process. The filament was then used to build specimens with the fused filament fabrication (FFF) three-dimensional (3D) printing process. The aim was to produce by FFF 3D printing, electrically conductive and thermoelectric functional specimens with enhanced mechanical properties. All nanocomposites’ samples were electrically conductive at filler loadings above the electrical percolation threshold. The highest thermoelectric performance was obtained for the PA12/CNT nanocomposite at 10.0 wt.%. The static tensile and flexural mechanical properties, as well as the Charpy’s impact and Vickers microhardness, were determined. The highest improvement in mechanical properties was observed for the PA12/CNT nanocomposites at 5.0 wt.% filler loading. The fracture mechanisms were identified by fractographic analyses of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images acquired from fractured surfaces of tensile tested specimens. The nanocomposites produced could find a variety of applications such as; 3D-printed organic thermoelectric materials for plausible large-scale thermal energy harvesting applications, resistors for flexible circuitry, and piezoresistive sensors for strain sensing.
Highlights
Additive manufacturing (AM) is currently considered as one of the most prominent manufacturing technologies with several recent developments and applications in diverse fields ranging from construction and buildings [1] and advanced polymer composites with electrical and thermoelectric properties [2] to the fabrication of electronic devices [3]and antimicrobial biomedical equipment based on thermoplastic materials [4]
3D printing printing parameters parameters followed followed in in this this study study to to manufacture manufacture the Figure 2 illustrates schematically the flow chart demonstrating the methodology followed in this work to produce the polyamide 12 (PA12), as well as PA12/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and PA12/carbon black (CB) nanocomposites utilized for the different measurements
Results of microstructural investigations of fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D-printed neat PA12 and PA12 nanocomposites fractured surfaces after the tensile test experiments are shown in Figure (PA12/CNT) and Figure (PA12/CB), respectively
Summary
Additive manufacturing (AM) is currently considered as one of the most prominent manufacturing technologies with several recent developments and applications in diverse fields ranging from construction and buildings [1] and advanced polymer composites with electrical and thermoelectric properties [2] to the fabrication of electronic devices [3]and antimicrobial biomedical equipment based on thermoplastic materials [4]. Threedimensional (3D) printing, which belongs to the AM technologies family, has experienced radical development and adoption over the last 20 years in both academia and various industrial sectors. 3D printing constitutes a cutting-edge and one of the most extensively used AM technologies [5]. This is attributed to the fact that 3D printing, among other manufacturing technologies, allows for the creation of 3D objects with more complex structures, compared to conventionally machined parts [6]. From the ever-increasing number of 3D printing AM approaches, fused filament fabrication (FFF) has been the most prominent technology, both for academia and science, as well as for home use and industrial applications. Thermoplastic polymeric materials in the form of filaments are used as feedstock. The filament is being heated above its melting point (Tm) and extruded with a movable nozzle in the X–Y direction to form a
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