Conductive Nanocomposites and Their 3D Printing

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanocomposite Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 5836

Special Issue Editor

Laboratory of Multiscale Mechanicas (LM2), Mechanical Engineering Departmenet, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada
Interests: nanomaterials; catalysis; polymer; composite; additive manufacturing; smart materials; sensors; nanotechnology; conductive nanocomposites; 3D printing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metals are the most frequently used conductive materials; however, they have important drawbacks such as corrosion and high density (heavyweight), and they are expensive to process. Hence, during the last decade, technological breakthroughs and research focus in the field of conductive materials have been intensely directed towards the development of conductive nanocomposites (CNC). CNCs are usually composed of conductive fillers such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and metal nanowires, dispersed in an insulating matrix. Polymer-based CNCs benefit from the intrinsic properties of polymers (i.e., light weight, low cost, corrosion resistance, and easy processing) combined with tunable electrical conductivity derived from their adjustable filler morphology and properties. CNCs have shown promising electrical properties which are useful for various applications, such as in sensors, electronics, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and lightning strike protection in airplanes.

Conventional methods used for forming CNCs (e.g., solvent-casting, compression molding, or injection molding) usually require the utilization of molds, while additive manufacture (AM) or 3D printing (3DP) methods build forms from a digitally designed 3D model without mold fabrication. This feature of 3DP makes this method one of the most promising methods suitable for direct fabrication of the final conductive parts and complex structures, as well as prototyping for experimental studies. To date, different types of 3D printing methods, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), selective laser sintering (SLS), stereolithography (SLA), and solvent-assisted 3DP have been developed.

The titled Special Issue aims to cover current research studies in the field of conductive nanocomposites which are useful for additive manufacturing. Advanced composite fabrication approaches with characterizations showing their potential in the field of 3D printing (e.g., rheological behavior) and innovative 3D printing methods and materials are very welcome.  

Dr. Kambiz Chizari
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D printing
  • composites
  • nanomaterials
  • polymer
  • conductive
  • electrical properties

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 12677 KiB  
Article
Three Dimensional Printing of Multiscale Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites Containing Graphene or Carbon Nanotubes
by Sara Residori, Sithiprumnea Dul, Alessandro Pegoretti, Luca Fambri and Nicola M. Pugno
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(12), 2064; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12122064 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2394
Abstract
Three-dimensional printing offers a promising, challenging opportunity to manufacture component parts with ad hoc designed composite materials. In this study, the novelty of the research is the production of multiscale composites by means of a solvent-free process based on melt compounding of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional printing offers a promising, challenging opportunity to manufacture component parts with ad hoc designed composite materials. In this study, the novelty of the research is the production of multiscale composites by means of a solvent-free process based on melt compounding of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS), with various amounts of microfillers, i.e., milled (M) carbon fibers (CFs) and nanofillers, i.e., carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The compounded materials were processed into compression molded sheets and into extruded filaments. The latter were then used to print fused filament fabrication (FFF) specimens. The multiscale addition of the microfillers inside the ABS matrix caused a notable increase in rigidity and a slight increase in strength. However, it also brought about a significant reduction of the strain at break. Importantly, GNPs addition had a good impact on the rigidity of the materials, whereas CNTs favored/improved the composites’ electrical conductivity. In particular, the addition of this nanofiller was very effective in improving the electrical conductivity compared to pure ABS and micro composites, even with the lowest CNT content. However, the filament extrusion and FFF process led to the creation of voids within the structure, causing a significant loss of mechanical properties and a slight improvement of the electrical conductivity of the printed multiscale composites. Selective parameters have been presented for the comparison and selection of compositions of multiscale nanocomposites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conductive Nanocomposites and Their 3D Printing)
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13 pages, 7777 KiB  
Article
3D Printable Composite Polymer Electrolytes: Influence of SiO2 Nanoparticles on 3D-Printability
by Zviadi Katcharava, Anja Marinow, Rajesh Bhandary and Wolfgang H. Binder
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(11), 1859; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12111859 - 29 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1885
Abstract
We here demonstrate the preparation of composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) for Li-ion batteries, applicable for 3D printing process via fused deposition modeling. The prepared composites consist of modified poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and SiO2-based nanofillers. PEG was successfully end [...] Read more.
We here demonstrate the preparation of composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) for Li-ion batteries, applicable for 3D printing process via fused deposition modeling. The prepared composites consist of modified poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and SiO2-based nanofillers. PEG was successfully end group modified yielding telechelic PEG containing either ureidopyrimidone (UPy) or barbiturate moieties, capable to form supramolecular networks via hydrogen bonds, thus introducing self-healing to the electrolyte system. Silica nanoparticles (NPs) were used as a filler for further adjustment of mechanical properties of the electrolyte to enable 3D-printability. The surface functionalization of the NPs with either ionic liquid (IL) or hydrophobic alkyl chains is expected to lead to an improved dispersion of the NPs within the polymer matrix. Composites with different content of NPs (5%, 10%, 15%) and LiTFSI salt (EO/Li+ = 5, 10, 20) were analyzed via rheology for a better understanding of 3D printability, and via Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) for checking their ionic conductivity. The composite electrolyte PEG 1500 UPy2/LiTFSI (EO:Li 5:1) mixed with 15% NP-IL was successfully 3D printed, revealing its suitability for application as printable composite electrolytes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conductive Nanocomposites and Their 3D Printing)
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16 pages, 2331 KiB  
Article
Intra-Cycle Elastic Nonlinearity of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Nanocomposites under Medium Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (MAOS) Flow
by Milad Kamkar, Soheil Sadeghi, Mohammad Arjmand, Ehsan Aliabadian and Uttandaraman Sundararaj
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(7), 1257; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano10071257 - 28 Jun 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2059
Abstract
This study seeks to unravel the effect of carbon nanotube’s physical and chemical features on the final electrical and rheological properties of polymer nanocomposites thereof. Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) were synthesized over two different types of catalysts, i.e., Fe and Ni, employing chemical [...] Read more.
This study seeks to unravel the effect of carbon nanotube’s physical and chemical features on the final electrical and rheological properties of polymer nanocomposites thereof. Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) were synthesized over two different types of catalysts, i.e., Fe and Ni, employing chemical vapor deposition. Utilizing this technique, we were able to synthesize N-CNTs with significantly different structures. As a result, remarkable differences in the network structure of the nanotubes were observed upon mixing the N-CNTs in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix, which, in turn, led to drastically different electrical and rheological properties. For instance, no enhancement in the electrical conductivity of poorly-dispersed (N-CNT)Ni/PVDF samples was observed even at high nanotube concentrations, whereas (N-CNT)Fe/PVDF nanocomposites exhibited an insulative behavior at 1.0 wt%, a semi-conductive behavior at 2.0 wt%, and a conductive behavior at 2.7 wt%. In terms of rheology, the most substantial differences in the viscoelastic behavior of the systems were distinguishable in the medium amplitude oscillatory shear (MAOS) region. The stress decomposition method combined with the evaluation of the elastic and viscous third-order Chebyshev coefficients revealed a strong intra-cycle elastic nonlinearity in the MAOS region for the poorly-dispersed systems in small frequencies; however, the well-dispersed systems showed no intra-cycle nonlinearity in the MAOS region. It was shown that the MAOS elastic nonlinearity of poorly-dispersed systems stems from the confinement of N-CNT domains between the rheometer’s plates for small gap sizes comparable with the size of the agglomerates. Moreover, the intra-cycle elastic nonlinearity of poorly-dispersed systems is frequency-dependent and vanished at higher frequencies. The correlation between the microstructure and viscoelastic properties under large shear deformations provides further guidance for the fabrication of high-performance 3D-printed electrically conductive nanocomposites with precisely controllable final properties for engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conductive Nanocomposites and Their 3D Printing)
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