Development of PLA/Microcellulose Biocomposite Filaments for 3D Printing
Loredana Incarnato, Maria Rossella Nobile, Paola Scarfato
Abstract
Abstract This work is aimed to develop, by means of conventional extrusion technologies for polymer processing, novel poly(lactide)/microcrystalline cellulose (PLA/MCC) filaments for 3D printing. The biocomposite filaments, produced at four different MCC loadings (6, 9, 12, and 18 wt%) by melt blending in extruder, are characterized in terms of rheological, thermal, and mechanical response. The analyses demonstrate that the MCC addition up to 12 wt% does not significantly modify the viscoelastic flow behavior of the matrix, and does not change its phase transition temperatures, but increases the storage modulus at 35°C by over 45%.
Topics & Concepts
BiocompositeMaterials scienceExtrusionRheologyMicrocrystalline celluloseComposite materialDynamic mechanical analysisPlastics extrusionViscoelasticityRheometryPolylactic acidCellulosePolymerChemical engineeringComposite numberEngineeringAdditive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologiesbiodegradable polymer synthesis and propertiesInnovations in Concrete and Construction Materials