The role of interdiffusion between roads and layers during direct ink writing of thermosetting resins is key to good mechanical performance of the resulting parts and components. While a large body of work has been published about the optimization of rheology, printability and print parameters to optimize the bonding between roads and layers, there is very little known about the micro and nanostructure within the roads and at the interfaces between roads and layers. We use microbeam wide angle and small angle X-ray fly-scanning to obtain micron scale resolution of the atomic and nanoscale structure of the constituents in the ink formulation such as inorganic rheology modifiers. The results from these spatially resolved synchrotron scattering studies demonstrate a rich and complex convolution of printing direction, nanoparticle alignment and gradients that result from the highly non-equilibrium process. These results shed light into the often-non-intuitive mechanical performance of 3D printed thermosetting composites and help in the design of better nozzle with optimized geometries.

Rich, complex and spatially resolved alignment of rheology modifier in 3D-printed thermoset nanocomposites via synchrotron microbeam scanning

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.