3D Printable All-Polymer Epoxy Composites

Abstract

Herein, 3D printable polymer-toughened epoxy resin composites are reported. Epoxy resins are widely used due to their excellent properties, such as thermal and chemical stability. However, their applications are limited by traditional mold-based manufacturing and their high brittleness. Mixtures of homopolymers, diblock copolymers, and triblock copolymers composed of poly­(phenylene ether), poly­(styrene), poly­(methyl methacrylate), and poly­(ethylene oxide) that self-assemble into micelles in the uncured resin are employed, providing a balance of structure, creep resistance, and flowability that enables 3D printing processing techniques and retention of shape from the time of printing throughout the cured state. The precured ink is solid at room temperature and has strong shear-thinning behavior at elevated temperature for printing. As the printed parts cure, the polymer morphology evolves via reaction-induced phase separation to yield finished composites with enhanced mechanical properties, including a 40% increase in the impact strength compared to the neat epoxy, without compromising thermal properties.

Effects of a liquid metal co‐filler on the properties of epoxy/binary filler composites

“…Exhibiting both extrudability and shape retention abilities could be useful in the customized manufacturing of highly complicated objects using this precursor suspension via advanced processing techniques such as 3D printing. 36,[42][43][44][45] Now, the colloidal precursor suspensions were cured at elevated temperatures to transform them into rigid composites. Figure 4 shows DSC curves of the suspensions with various Al 2 O 3 :EGaIn volume ratios in the temperate range between 35 and 200 C. Regardless of the LM loading in sample formulations, the major exothermic peak appeared at $143-145 C, consistent with that known for the EMIinduced curing reaction of the pure BADGE-HMPA matrix.…”

“…16 Although the various advantages of LM droplets as fillers in soft elastomeric polymer matrices have been validated in several previous studies, their effects in nonstretchable, rigid matrices such as epoxy-based polymers (important for electronic packaging, automobiles, aerospace, etc.) [1][2][3][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]15,[34][35][36] remain relatively unclear. Theoretically, including high-TC LMs at high loads could be expected to increase the overall composite TC, given that such rigid matrices usually possess TC values as low as those of elastomeric matrices.…”

Synthesis and properties of a nonionic water-based epoxy curing agent

“…It can improve insulation and flame retardancy, reduce viscosity, and improve processing performance. [1][2][3][4] It can also improve the performance of the existing resin curing agent by modification and realize the high efficiency and multifunction of the curing agent through compounding technology. [5][6][7][8][9] In recent years, numerous countries have promulgated environmental protection laws and regulations to limit volatile organic solvents (VOC), and water-based coating has become a crucial trend in the development of coatings.…”

Standalone Block Copolymer Nanoballoons: Decoupling Self-Assembly from Implementation in Nanomanufacturing

“…Several previous works have described many such scenarios. − The vesicle is a particularly attractive structure because of its spherical enclosed space. With applications ranging from nanoreactors, biomedical devices, or potential filling materials in micromanufacturing, − the utility of this configuration is immense. However, conventional methods of vesicle formation have three primary limitations when considered from a nanomanufacturing perspective.…”