Surface Modification Strategies for Improved Cellulose Nanocrystal Integration in 3D-printed Bio-based Acrylate Matrix

Polymer 2024
Beāte Beatrise Brūvere, Maksims Jurinovs, Oskars Platnieks, Anda Gromova, Sergejs Gaidukovs

The current application of renewable resources in vat photopolymerization (VP) 3D printing is rather limited, emphasizing the importance of incorporating bio-based materials into additive manufacturing (AM). In this study, VP 3D printing technology was applied to create composites (derived from soybean oil-based resin) reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). Two distinct modifications for CNC, i.e., the acrylation and functionalization with methyl methacrylate, were selected to achieve strong bonding with the UV-curable acrylate matrix. With the use of 0.1 wt% of modified CNC, the resins retain remarkable performance and support the creation of high-resolution prints. The successful integration of modified CNC showed significant improvements in tensile and flexural properties, e.g., elongation at break increased by 75 % and 295 %, respectively. The addition of modified CNC fillers also increased tensile strength by 147 % and flexural strength by 121 %. Fourier-transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) testified to the enhanced interface between filler and matrix. The morphological features and print quality were examined with microscopic analysis, UV-VIS spectroscopy, and colorimetry. The resin showed exceptional printing resolution, characteristic of VP printing, and yielded double bond conversion rates greater than 70 %. The findings presented here indicate that the addition of 0.1 wt% of modified CNC to bio-based resins results in an exceptional increase in the mechanical performance and dimensional stability of printed materials.

Keywords
UV-Curing | Photopolymerization | Nanocomposite | Nanocellulose functionalization | Acrylated epoxidized soybean oil
DOI
10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127453
Hyperlink
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127453

Brūvere, B.B., Jurinovs, M., Platnieks, O., Barkāne, A., Gaidukovs, S. Surface Modification Strategies for Improved Cellulose Nanocrystal Integration in 3D-printed Bio-based Acrylate Matrix. Polymer, 2024, Vol. 309, Article number 127453. ISSN 0032-3861. e-ISSN 1873-2291. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127453

Publication language
English (en)