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. 2023 Sep 28;13(19):2658.
doi: 10.3390/nano13192658.

Investigation of Thermal, Mechanical and Shape Memory Properties of 3D-Printed Functionally Graded Nanocomposite Materials

Mohamad Alsaadi  1   2   3 , Eoin P Hinchy  1   4 , Conor T McCarthy  1   4 , Vicente F Moritz  2 , Alexandre Portela  2 , Declan M Devine  2
Affiliations

Investigation of Thermal, Mechanical and Shape Memory Properties of 3D-Printed Functionally Graded Nanocomposite Materials

Mohamad Alsaadi et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

In this study, a 3D-printed photocurable resin was developed by incorporating graphene nanoplatelets functionalised with melamine to investigate the thermal, mechanical, fracture and shape memory behaviours. The objective of this work was to produce a printed functionally graded nanocomposite material that has a smart temperature-responsive structure; presents good thermal stability, strength and fracture toughness; and can demonstrate shape-changing motions, such as sequential transformations, over time. The functionalised graphene nanoplatelets were examined via thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the degradation temperature of the nanocomposite containing 0.1 wt% of functionalised graphene nanoplatelets at the weight loss of 5% was 304 °C, greater than that of the neat one by 29%. Dynamic mechanical analysis results showed property enhancements of the storage modulus and glass transition temperature. Fracture toughness, tensile strength and impact resistance were improved by 18%, 35% and 78%, respectively. The shape memory tests were performed to obtain the temperature-time recovery behaviour of the 3D-printed structures. The addition of functionalised graphene nanoplatelets demonstrated an enhancement in the shape recovery ratios. Generally, the five subsequent cycles were notably stable with a high recovery ratio of 97-100% for the flat shape and circular shape of the M-GNP specimens. On the other hand, these values were between 91% and 94% for the corresponding neat specimens.

Keywords: 4D printing; SLA; fracture toughness; graphene nanoplatelets functionalisation; mechanical characteristics; shape memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram of the functionalisation process of GNP: (a) Ball-milling and functional molecules; (b) The GNP functionalisation by melamine.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic diagram outlining the programming and recovery stages for the 3DP flat-shaped specimen and the circular-shaped specimen (angle θ is used to evaluate the shape recovery).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Characterisation of the M-GNP, GNP and melamine: (a) FTIR spectra; (b) TGA.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Characterisation of the M-GNP and GNP: (a) Shapeshifting via Raman spectra; (b) UV light absorption via UV-Vis spectra in acetone solution.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Dynamic mechanical analysis: (a) Storage modulus, E’ and (b) damping factor (tan(δ)).
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM micrographs of the tensile test specimen fracture surface (Red frame represents the location of the 50 µm image).
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) Stress intensity factor values of the SENB test (b) SEM of 0.1% M-GNP SENB specimen.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Shape memory behaviour. (a) Recovery ratio versus temperature and (b) Recovery ratio versus time.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Shape recovery behaviour of the repeated thermomechanical cycles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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