Selective Laser Sintering 3D Printing: A Way to Construct 3D Electrically Conductive Segregated Network in Polymer Matrix

Abstract

Selective laser sintering (SLS), which can directly turn 3D models into real objects, is employed to prepare the flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) conductor using self‐made carbon nanotubes (CNTs) wrapped TPU powders. The SLS printing, as a shear‐free and free‐flowing processing without compacting, provides a unique approach to construct conductive segregated networks of CNTs in the polymer matrix. The electrical conductivity for the SLS processed TPU/CNTs composite has a lower percolation threshold of 0.2 wt% and reaches ≈10−1 S m−1 at 1 wt% CNTs content, which is seven orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional injection‐molded TPU/CNTs composites at the same CNTs content. The 3D printed TPU/CNTs specimen can maintain good flexibility and durability, even after repeated bending for 1000 cycles, the electrical resistance can keep at a nearly constant value. The flexible conductive TPU/CNTs composite with complicated structures and shapes like porous piezoresistors can be easily obtained by this approach.

Polymer/Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) Nanocomposites Processing Using Additive Manufacturing (Three-Dimensional Printing) Technique: An Overview

“…CNT loading was optimized and it was found that 2% CNT scaffold offers the best combination of mechanical behavior and electrical conductivity for scaffold application. Selective laser sintering (SLS) was used by Li et al [86] to prepare the flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) conductor using self-made MWCNTs wrapped TPU powder. The authors claimed that having lower percolation threshold, the electrical conductivity for the SLS processed TPU/CNTs composite reached ≈10 −1 S/m −1 at 1 wt.…”

Selective Laser Sintering Fabricated Thermoplastic Polyurethane/Graphene Cellular Structures with Tailorable Properties and High Strain Sensitivity

“…Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing (3DP), is an innovative manufacturing technology which allows one to turn complex 3D models into real objects without special tooling and with extreme facility, cost, and time savings, alongside high accuracy in the realization of specific complex items [1,2]. Additionally, 3DP includes several technologies, such as stereolithography (SLA) [3], fused deposition modeling (FDM) [4], and selective laser sintering (SLS), and some less common techniques [5][6][7].…”

“…Additionally, 3DP includes several technologies, such as stereolithography (SLA) [3], fused deposition modeling (FDM) [4], and selective laser sintering (SLS), and some less common techniques [5][6][7]. Among them, SLS ensures the highest geometrical freedom and dimensional precision, which allows the manufacturing of parts with well-defined prototypes and components applied in different fields, including electronics, mechanics, and biomedicine [1,8]. Starting from a computer-aided design (CAD) 3D model, SLS builds up objects by sintering and fusing powder material in a layer-by-layer approach, via a computer-controlled laser [9,10].…”

Preparation and 3D-printing of highly conductive polylactic acid/carbon nanotube nanocomposites via local enrichment strategy

“…[24][25][26] In order to achieve above purpose, our group has also utilized simple but effective strategies to realize the preparation of high-performance materials with lower ller loading. [27][28][29][30] By using solution dispersion and physical deposition, the llers were selectively coated on the surface of polyamide 11 (PA11) particles. Then, the coated PA11 particles were used for selective laser sintering (SLS), which was also one of the important 3Dprinting technologies.…”