Improving material selection for additive manufacturing (AM), otherwise known as 3D printing, has gained significant attention in recent years. Several researchers and companies have been pushed by consumers and industry to stretch the capabilities of AM across many different modalities. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are a biorenewable resource derived from the cell walls of many different biological sources and offer significant promise for a broad variety of applications, including in developing advanced materials and structures through additive manufacturing. Whether used in an aqueous suspension or as a reinforcing filler in a polymeric matrix, cellulose nanocrystals present unique rheological considerations for translation to AM processes. The unique properties of CNCs present interesting rheological challenges associated with each of the different modes of AM. However, these same CNC properties also offer the most exciting opportunities to develop voxel based, preferentially aligned and compositionally/functionally graded structures.  Whether in an aqueous suspension or polymer composite, the CNC rheology plays a significant role in the resulting process-structure-property relationships enabled through additive manufacturing. We will probe multiple cases where CNC rheology enables different modes of additive manufacturing of functional materials.

CNC rheology for additive manufacturing: Unlocking new opportunities for nanocellulose

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ACS Spring 2023

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