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Shape memory effect of three-dimensional printed products based on polypropylene/nylon 6 alloy

  • Polymers
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Abstract

Based on the rapid development of three-dimensional (3D) printing, the fabrication of the 3D printed products which can change their shapes over time has been termed as four-dimensional (4D) printing. Since the functionality is generally limited by available materials, especially for fused deposition modeling (FDM, a trendy technology of 3D printing), it has aroused widespread requirements to develop a novel filament with excellent properties and functionalities. In this study, polypropylene/nylon 6 (PP/PA6) alloy was fabricated as a candidate for FDM and maleic anhydride-grafted poly(ethylene–octene) (POE-g-MAH) was used as a modifying agent as well as a compatibilizer. The results showed that the PP/PA6 alloy with 30 wt% of PA6 on the basis of the certain mass ratio of PP and POE-g-MAH (1.5:1) exhibited a high dimensional stability and appropriate mechanical properties in FDM. In addition, the possibility of PP/PA6 alloy as a shape memory polymer blend and the mechanism of shape memory effect (SME) were investigated. The 3D printed product with 30 wt% of PA6 fabricated by the infill orientation of 45°/− 45° and 100% infill density exhibited a great SME with the deformation temperature (Td) of 175 °C. This simple method for preparation of a novel filament with shape memory performance based on PP/PA6 alloy has a vast potential for the development of 4D printing technology.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (2015B010122002), the Science and Technology Project of Guangzhou (201604016119) and the Science and Technology Project of Foshan (2016AG101581).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510640, Guangdong, China

    Xiaodong Peng, Hui He, Yunchao Jia, Hao Liu, Yi Geng, Bai Huang & Chao Luo

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  1. Xiaodong Peng
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  2. Hui He
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Correspondence to Hui He.

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Peng, X., He, H., Jia, Y. et al. Shape memory effect of three-dimensional printed products based on polypropylene/nylon 6 alloy. J Mater Sci 54, 9235–9246 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03366-2

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