Influence of the Degree of Cure in the Bulk Properties of Graphite Nanoplatelets Nanocomposites Printed via Stereolithography
Departamento Ciencia de los Materiales, I. M. y Q. I., IMEYMAT, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, s/n, 11510 Puerto Real (Cádiz), Spain
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Polymers 2020, 12(5), 1103; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051103
Received: 17 April 2020
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Revised: 4 May 2020
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Accepted: 10 May 2020
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Published: 12 May 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical and Advanced Properties of Polymers)
In this work, we report on the fabrication via stereolithography (SLA) of acrylic-based nanocomposites using graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) as an additive. GNPs are able to absorb UV–Vis radiation, thus blocking partial or totally the light path of the SLA laser. Based on this, we identified a range of GNP concentrations below 2.5 wt %, where nanocomposites can be successfully printed. We show that, even though GNP is well-dispersed along the polymeric matrix, nanocomposites presented lower degrees of cure and therefore worse mechanical properties when compared with pristine resin. However, a post-processing at 60 °C with UV light for 1 h eliminates this difference in the degree of cure, reaching values above 90% in all cases. In these conditions, the tensile strength is enhanced for 0.5 wt % GNP nanocomposites, while the stiffness is increased for 0.5–1.0 wt % GNP nanocomposites. Finally, we also demonstrate that 2.5 wt % GNP nanocomposites possess characteristic properties of semiconductors, which allows them to be used as electrostatic dispersion materials.
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Keywords:
3D printing; stereolithography; nanocomposites; correlation of bulk and molecular properties; physical methods of analysis; mechanical properties; electrical properties
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MDPI and ACS Style
De León, A.S.; Molina, S.I. Influence of the Degree of Cure in the Bulk Properties of Graphite Nanoplatelets Nanocomposites Printed via Stereolithography. Polymers 2020, 12, 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051103
AMA Style
De León AS, Molina SI. Influence of the Degree of Cure in the Bulk Properties of Graphite Nanoplatelets Nanocomposites Printed via Stereolithography. Polymers. 2020; 12(5):1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051103
Chicago/Turabian StyleDe León, Alberto S., and Sergio I. Molina. 2020. "Influence of the Degree of Cure in the Bulk Properties of Graphite Nanoplatelets Nanocomposites Printed via Stereolithography" Polymers 12, no. 5: 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051103
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