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Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing
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Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2022) | Viewed by 16493

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. José-Marie Lopez-Cuesta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre des Matériaux des Mines d’Alès, Ecole des Mines d’Alès, 6 Avenue de Clavières, CEDEX 30319 Alès, France
Interests: nanocomposites; biobased composites; flame retardancy; additive manufacturing; recycling and life cycle analysis of polymer and composites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fouad Laoutid

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Polymeric & Composite Materials, Materia Nova Research Center, University of Mons UMONS, Place du Parc 23, B-7000 Mons, Belgium
Interests: (bio)polymers; flame retardancy; polymer recycling; (nano)composites; reactive extrusion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The outstanding development of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies has entailed many issues regarding the performances of materials and structures processed through the various related techniques of 3D printing.

In the field of polymers and composites, AM technologies can involve either liquid precursors at ambient temperature, molten filaments or drops, as well as powders. Cooling or crystallization, sintering or reactive processes such as crosslinking are the main phenomena enabling to get cohesive 3D structures. However, as a consequence of these specific processes, AM parts may exhibit some porosity or texture irregularities, and also particular microstructures in the case of polymer blends or composites. Hence, functional properties are significantly influenced by the texture of the 3D parts.

It is generally considered that the functionaproperties of AM parts or specimens are lower than these processed through the usual technologies of polymer processing, such as injection molding or thermocompression, for example. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made toward bridging the gap. Furthermore, taking into account the possibility to tune the morphologies of multiphased materials processed through AM (polymer blends, reinforced polymers, nanocomposites, polymer blends with nanocomposites) and to optimize the processing parameters, interesting performance could be achieved. Moreover, it has to be noted that due to the specific architecture and topology allowing material savings, AM structures can for example exhibit better specific mechanical properties (such as ratio of elastic modulus to density) than their counterpart produced by the usual polymer processing techniques.

The objective of this Special Issue is to investigate the microstructures and properties of polymer blends processed through the various AM technologies by focusing on the different routes allowing these properties to be maximized or optimized. Particular interest will be devoted to modeling strategies aiming to establish relationships between the processing parameters, the microstructures, and functional properties.

Prof. Dr. José-Marie Lopez-Cuesta
Dr. Fouad Laoutid
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • polymer blends
  • functional properties
  • microstructure
  • modeling

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4516 KiB  
Article
Development of Biodegradable PLA/PBAT-Based Filaments for Fertilizer Release for Agricultural Applications
by Thyago Camelo Pereira da Silva, Allef Gabriel da Silva Fortes, Iago Rodrigues de Abreu, Laura Hecker de Carvalho, Yeda Medeiros Bastos de Almeida, Tatianny Soares Alves and Renata Barbosa
Materials 2022, 15(19), 6764; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196764 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2809
Abstract
The aim of this work was to produce filaments of PLA/PBAT and NPK fertilizer adsorbed on organophilized bentonite intended for application in the prototyping of biodegradable agricultural artifacts in 3D printing, using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technique. This is the first time [...] Read more.
The aim of this work was to produce filaments of PLA/PBAT and NPK fertilizer adsorbed on organophilized bentonite intended for application in the prototyping of biodegradable agricultural artifacts in 3D printing, using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technique. This is the first time that we have reported this composite for a 3D printing approach. Systems containing PLA/PBAT, organobentonite and NPK were initially processed in an internal mixer and later extruded as filaments in a single-screw extruder. The prototypes were printed by FDM. Structural, morphological and thermal properties, as well as NPK releasing, were investigated. The results suggest that exfoliated and/or intercalated nanocomposites were obtained by the organoclay addition to the PLA/PBAT blend. The morphological analysis revealed a good surface quality of the impressions. Systems containing organobentonite released approximately 22% less fertilizer in 24 h compared to the systems without organobentonite. This difference is due to the higher concentration of nanoparticles that generate more barriers to the diffusion of NPK. The release data for these systems had a better fit to the kinetic model of Korsmeyer-Peppas. Thus, studied filaments have the potential to retard the release of fertilizer and are suitable for further development of structures for agricultural applications by FDM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing)
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19 pages, 4603 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Optimized Ternary PLA/PHB/Organoclay Composites Processed through Fused Filament Fabrication and Injection Molding
by Kubra Buyuksoy-Fekraoui, Clément Lacoste, Monica Francesca Pucci, José-Marie Lopez-Cuesta and Didier Perrin
Materials 2022, 15(9), 3398; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15093398 - 9 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1998
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the structure–properties relationship of ternary blends of polylactide/polyhydroxybutyrate (PLA/PHB)/organo-modified layered silicate (OMLS). Morphological, thermal, rheological, and mechanical characterizations were performed to understand the influence of OMLS on PLA/PHB (70/30 wt%) formulations optimized through modifications with [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to investigate the structure–properties relationship of ternary blends of polylactide/polyhydroxybutyrate (PLA/PHB)/organo-modified layered silicate (OMLS). Morphological, thermal, rheological, and mechanical characterizations were performed to understand the influence of OMLS on PLA/PHB (70/30 wt%) formulations optimized through modifications with an epoxy-based chain extender, the use of a plasticizer, as well as the influence of the type of processing route: injection molding or fused filament fabrication. The addition of OMLS allowed the blend compatibility to be improved, with the appearance of a single melting peak on DSC thermograms at 146 °C, as well as the reduction in the size of the nodules for the injected molded specimens. Concerning the printed samples, AFM analysis revealed a coalescence of the PHB minor phase due to its degradation. This phenomenon was dramatically enhanced in the presence of OMLS and has been ascribed to the degradation of both the organo-modifier and the PHB minor phase in the blend. Rheological and mechanical tests (17% decrease in Young’s modulus and 13% decrease in elongation at break) confirmed this degradation that would have occurred during the manufacturing of the filaments and the printing of specimens due to additional thermal and cooling steps. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing)
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15 pages, 3265 KiB  
Article
Fire Behavior of Polyamide 12/Rubber Formulations Made by Laser Sintering
by Marcos Batistella, Monica Francesca Pucci, Arnaud Regazzi, José-Marie Lopez-Cuesta, Ouassila Kadri, David Bordeaux and Florence Ayme
Materials 2022, 15(5), 1773; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051773 - 26 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2071
Abstract
In the present work, the processability and fire behavior of parts made by the laser sintering (LS) of polyamide 12/rubber powder blends is studied. In order to evaluate some of the interactions that could take place during LS, three acrylonitrile butadiene rubbers (NBRs) [...] Read more.
In the present work, the processability and fire behavior of parts made by the laser sintering (LS) of polyamide 12/rubber powder blends is studied. In order to evaluate some of the interactions that could take place during LS, three acrylonitrile butadiene rubbers (NBRs) were used, which included two that had different acrylonitrile (AN) contents, and one that had carboxylated rubber. The results show that the flowability of the powders is strongly dependent on the rubber used. For the carboxylated rubber, a good flowability of the blend was observed, whereas the use of rubbers with different AN contents led to significant changes in the powder flowability, with a heterogeneous powder bed, and differences in the porosity as a function of the AN content. Furthermore, the addition of rubbers to polyamide 12 (PA12) entails an increase in the sintering window and, in particular, a change in the melting temperature of PA12 is noticed. Even though some changes in the crystallization and melting temperatures are observed, formulations containing 10 and 20 wt.% of rubbers could be processed using the same process parameters as PA12. Furthermore, the formulations containing carboxylated rubber show improved fire behavior, which is measured by a cone calorimeter, with reductions of about 45 and 65% in the peak of the heat release rate, compared to the PA12. Moreover, almost all of the samples evaluated in this study are classed as “Good” by the Flame Retardancy Index. This result can be partially explained by the formation of an amide linkage between the polyamide and NBR during processing, which could result in increases in the melt viscosities of these samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing)
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27 pages, 7845 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of PLA/PCL/Graphene Nanoplatelet (GNP) Electrically Conductive Circuit Using the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D Printing Technique
by Nour-Alhoda Masarra, Marcos Batistella, Jean-Christophe Quantin, Arnaud Regazzi, Monica Francesca Pucci, Roland El Hage and José-Marie Lopez-Cuesta
Materials 2022, 15(3), 762; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15030762 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5273
Abstract
For the purpose of fabricating electrically conductive composites via the fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique whose properties were compared with injection-moulded properties, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were mixed with different contents of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP). The wettability, morphological, rheological, thermal, mechanical, [...] Read more.
For the purpose of fabricating electrically conductive composites via the fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique whose properties were compared with injection-moulded properties, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were mixed with different contents of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP). The wettability, morphological, rheological, thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of the 3D-printed samples were investigated. The microstructural images showed the selective localization of the GNPs in the PCL nodules that are dispersed in the PLA phase. The electrical resistivity results using the four-probes method revealed that the injection-moulded samples are insulators, whereas the 3D-printed samples featuring the same graphene content are semiconductors. Varying the printing raster angles also exerted an influence on the electrical conductivity results. The electrical percolation threshold was found to be lower than 15 wt.%, whereas the rheological percolation threshold was found to be lower than 10 wt.%. Furthermore, the 20 wt.% and 25 wt.% GNP composites were able to connect an electrical circuit. An increase in the Young’s modulus was shown with the percentage of graphene. As a result, this work exhibited the potential of the FFF technique to fabricate biodegradable electrically conductive PLA-PCL-GNP composites that can be applicable in the electronic domain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing)
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Graphical abstract

17 pages, 5675 KiB  
Article
Valorization of Recycled Tire Rubber for 3D Printing of ABS- and TPO-Based Composites
by Fouad Laoutid, Soumaya Lafqir, Antoniya Toncheva and Philippe Dubois
Materials 2021, 14(19), 5889; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195889 - 8 Oct 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3404
Abstract
Vulcanized and devulcanized ground tire rubber microparticles have been used as a minor phase in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS) and thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO) for the development of materials with desired functionalities by 3D printing. These polymers have been selected because they ( [...] Read more.
Vulcanized and devulcanized ground tire rubber microparticles have been used as a minor phase in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS) and thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO) for the development of materials with desired functionalities by 3D printing. These polymers have been selected because they (i) present part of the plastic waste generated by the automotive industry and (ii) have totally different properties (ABS for its stiffness and robustness and TPO for its softness and ductility). The study aims to improve the circular economy of the automotive industry by proposing a promising route for recycling the generated tire rubber waste. In this respect, emergent technology for plastic processing such as 3D printing is used, as part of the additive manufacturing technologies for the prolongated end of life of recycled plastics originated from automotive waste such as ABS and TPO. The obtained results revealed that (i) the composites are suitable for successful filament production with desired composition and diameter required for successful 3D printing by fused deposition modeling, and that (ii) the optimization of the composition of the blends allows the production of materials with interesting mechanical performances. Indeed, some of the investigated ABS-recycled rubber tire blends exhibit high impact properties as TPO-based composites do, which in addition exhibits elongation at break higher than 500% and good compression properties, accompanied with good shape recovery ratio after compression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructures and Properties of Polymer Blends Processed through 3D Printing)
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