Comprehensive Enhancement in Thermomechanical Performance of Melt-Extruded PEEK Filaments by Graphene Incorporation

Abstract

A simple and scalable fabrication process of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs)-reinforced polyether ether ketone (PEEK) filaments with enhanced mechanical and thermal performance was successfully demonstrated in this work. The developed PEEK–GnP nanocomposite filaments by a melt-extrusion process showed excellent improvement in storage modulus at 30 °C (61%), and significant enhancement in tensile strength (34%), Young’s modulus (25%), and elongation at break (37%) when GnP content of 1.0 wt.% was used for the neat PEEK. Moreover, the GnPs addition to the PEEK enhanced the thermal stability of the polymer matrix. Improvement in mechanical and thermal properties was attributed to the improved dispersion of GnP inside PEEK, which could form a stronger/robust interface through hydrogen bonding and π–π* interactions. The obtained mechanical properties were also correlated to the mechanical reinforcement models of Guth and Halpin–Tsai. The GnP layers could form agglomerates as the GnP content increases (>1 wt.%), which would decline neat PEEK’s crystallinity and serve as stress concentration sites inside the composite, leading to a deterioration of the mechanical performance. The results demonstrate that the developed PEEK–GnP nanocomposites can be used in highly demanding engineering sectors like 3D printing of aerospace and automotive parts and structural components of humanoid robots and biomedical devices.

Surface Finishing of FDM-Fabricated Amorphous Polyetheretherketone and Its Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Composite by Dry Milling

“…Compared with the above-mentioned subtractive manufacturing methods for PEEK and its composites, three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), gets around many restraints and is very suitable for the fabrication of small-batch customized PEEK components because of the excellent heat resistance of PEEK and its composites [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. M. Yan et al [ 21 ] examined the rheological behavior during selective laser sintering (SLS) and the sintering kinetics of CF/PEEK composites, paving the way for the structure optimization and light-weight design with complex geometries.…”

Selective Polyetheretherketone Implants Combined with Graphene Cause Definitive Cell Adhesion and Osteogenic Differentiation

“…This result could occur if the increased G concentration lead to filler agglomeration, which could serve as stress concentration sites and compromise the structural integrity of the composites. 35 , 36

Figure 2 Mechanical properties testing of PEEK and G-PEEK. ( A ) The modulus from compressive testing.

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Epoxidized natural rubber/acid functionalized carbon nanotubes composites for enhanced thermo‐mechanical and oxygen barrier performance

“…[6,8] Polymer nanocomposites and their associated materials have grabbed researchers and the scientific community's attention after they came into the limelight for many technological applications, including the automobile industry, aerospace, electronics, and robotics, to name a few. [9][10][11] Many investigations have been carried out to explore various fillers such as clay, [12] carbon (amorphous), [13] carbon black, [14] carbon fiber, [15] CNTs, [16,17] and graphene [18][19][20] as reinforcement for synthesizing polymer and hybrid polymer composites. However, carbon black is the most conventionally used filler to improve elastomers' modulus.…”