Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions

Torres, Xavier M.; Stockdale, John R.; Adhikari, Santosh; Legett, Shelbie A.; Pacheco, Adam; Guajardo, Jesus A.; Labouriau, Andrea

doi:10.3390/polym15214334

Open AccessArticle

Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions

by

Xavier M. Torres

^*

,

John R. Stockdale

,

Santosh Adhikari

,

Shelbie A. Legett

,

Adam Pacheco

,

Jesus A. Guajardo

and

Andrea Labouriau

^*

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Polymers 2023, 15(21), 4334; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214334

Submission received: 11 September 2023 / Revised: 27 October 2023 / Accepted: 27 October 2023 / Published: 6 November 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing of Polymer-Based Composite Materials)

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Abstract

Although fumed silica/siloxane suspensions are commonly employed in additive manufacturing technology, the interplay between shelf life, storage conditions, and printability has yet to be explored. In this work, direct ink writing (DIW) was used to print unique three-dimensional structures that required suspensions to retain shape and form while being printed onto a substrate. Suspensions containing varying concentrations of hydrophobic and hydrophilic silica were formulated and evaluated over a time span of thirty days. Storage conditions included low (8%) and high (50%) relative humidity and temperatures ranging from 4 °C to 25 °C. The shelf life of the suspensions was examined by comparing the print quality of pristine and aged samples via rheology, optical microscopy, and mechanical testing. Results showed a significant decrease in printability over time for suspensions containing hydrophilic fumed silica, whereas the printability of suspensions containing hydrophobic fumed silica remained largely unchanged after storage. The findings in this work established the following recommendations for extending the shelf life and printability of suspensions commonly used in DIW technology: (1) higher fumed silica concentrations, (2) low humidity and low temperature storage environments, and (3) the use of hydrophobic fumed silica instead of hydrophilic fumed silica.

Keywords: silica; siloxane suspensions; rheology; additive manufacturing; direct ink writing; 3D printability

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MDPI and ACS Style

Torres, X.M.; Stockdale, J.R.; Adhikari, S.; Legett, S.A.; Pacheco, A.; Guajardo, J.A.; Labouriau, A. Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions. Polymers 2023, 15, 4334. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214334

AMA Style

Torres XM, Stockdale JR, Adhikari S, Legett SA, Pacheco A, Guajardo JA, Labouriau A. Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions. Polymers. 2023; 15(21):4334. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214334

Chicago/Turabian Style

Torres, Xavier M., John R. Stockdale, Santosh Adhikari, Shelbie A. Legett, Adam Pacheco, Jesus A. Guajardo, and Andrea Labouriau. 2023. "Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions" Polymers 15, no. 21: 4334. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214334

APA Style

Torres, X. M., Stockdale, J. R., Adhikari, S., Legett, S. A., Pacheco, A., Guajardo, J. A., & Labouriau, A. (2023). Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions. Polymers, 15(21), 4334. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214334

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Interplay between Shelf Life and Printability of Silica-Filled Suspensions

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