Abstract
Electrically conductive polymer nanocomposites were prepared through selective laser sintering (SLS) of polyamide-12 (PA) powder coated with graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) using sonication. The SLS process parameters were optimized in order to maximize the tensile modulus at 3 and 5 wt% GNP. The highest tensile modulus (2.1 GPa) was achieved at 3 wt%. A slight decrease in flexural modulus and strength was observed at 3 and 5 wt% GNP compared with the neat polymer. Morphological observation of the graphitecoated PA powder showed fairly homogeneous dispersion. The SLS processed parts were nearly fully dense and the highest density (99.5%) was found at 3 wt% GNP. The bulk electrical conductivity of the SLS-processed nanocomposites was found to be 3.8×10−11 and 6.4×10−8 S/cm for 3 and 5 wt% GNP respectively.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Abbreviations
- GNP:
-
Graphite Nanoplatelets
- PA:
-
Polyamide
- PNC:
-
Polymer Nanocomposite
- SLS:
-
Selective Laser Sintering
References
Bhattacharya, S. N., Kamal, M. R., and Gupta, R. K., “Polymeric nanocomposites: Theory and practice,” Hanser Verlag, 2008.
Kawasumi, M., Hasegawa, N., Kato, M., Usuki, A., and Okada, A., “Preparation and mechanical properties of polypropylene-clay hybrids,” Macromolecules, Vol. 30, No. 20, pp. 6333–6338, 1997.
Kato, M., Usuki, A., and Okada, A., “Synthesis of polypropylene oligomer-clay intercalation compounds,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 66, No. 9, pp. 1781–1785, 1997.
Yasmin, A., Abot, J. L., and Daniel, I. M., “Processing of clay/epoxy nanocomposites by shear mixing,” Scripta Materialia, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 81–86, 2003.
Vaia, R. A., Jandt, K. D., Kramer, E. J., and Giannelis, E. P., “Microstructural evolution of melt intercalated polymer-organically modified layered silicates nanocomposites,” Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 8, No. 11, pp. 2628–2635, 1996.
Deshmane, C., Yuan, Q., and Misra, R., “On the fracture characteristics of impact tested high density polyethylene-calcium carbonate nanocomposites,” Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 452, pp. 592–601, 2007.
Kalaitzidou, K., Fukushima, H., and Drzal, L. T., “Mechanical properties and morphological characterization of exfoliated graphitepolypropylene nanocomposites,” Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 1675–1682, 2007.
Cembrola, R. J., “The relationship of carbon-black dispersion to electrical-resistivity and vulcanizate physical-properties,” Polymer Engineering & Science, Vol. 22, No. 10, pp. 601–609, 1982.
Agari, Y., Ueda, A., and Nagai, S., “Thermal-conductivities of composites in several types of dispersion-systems,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 1665–1669, 1991.
Deckard, C. R., “Selective laser sintering,” Ph.D. Thesis, Austin, University of Texas at Austin, 1988.
Liu, F. H., Shen, Y. K., and Lee, J. L., “Selective laser sintering of a hydroxyapatite-silica scaffold on cultured MG63 osteoblasts in vitro,” Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf., Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 439–444, 2012.
Lee, P. H., Chang, E., Yu, S., Lee, S. W., Kim, I. W., Park, S., and Chung, H., “Modification and characteristics of biodegradable polymer suitable for selective laser sintering,” Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf., Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 1079–1086, 2013.
Athreya, S. R., Kalaitzidou, K., and Das, S., “Processing and characterization of a carbon black-filled electrically conductive nylon-12 nanocomposite produced by selective laser sintering,” Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 527, No. 10–11, pp. 2637–2642, 2010.
Athreya, S. R., Kalaitzidou, K., and Das, S., “Mechanical and microstructural properties of nylon-12/carbon black composites: Selective laser sintering versus melt compounding and injection molding,” Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 506–510, 2011.
Jiang, X. and Drzal, L. T., “Multifunctional high density polyethylene nanocomposites produced by incorporation of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets 1: Morphology and mechanical properties,” Polymer Composites, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 1091–1098, 2010.
Drzal, L., Fukushima, H., and Do, I., “Exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP) a carbon nanotube alternative for modifying the properties of polymers and composites,” XG Sciences, 2006.
Kalaitzidou, K., Fukushima, H., and Drzal, L. T., “Mechanical properties and morphological characterization of exfoliated graphitepolypropylene nanocomposites,” Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 1675–1682, 2007.
Athreya, S. R., Kalaitzidou, K., and Das, S., “Microstructure, thermomechanical properties, and electrical conductivity of carbon black — filled nylon — 12 nanocomposite prepared by selective laser sintering,” Polymer Engineering & Science, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 12–20, 2012.
Chung, H. and Das, S., “Functionally graded nylon-11/silica nanocomposites produced by selective laser sintering,” Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 487, No. 1, pp. 251–257, 2008.
Chung, H. and Das, S., “Processing and properties of glass bead particulate-filled functionally graded nylon-11 composites produced by selective laser sintering,” Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 437, No. 2, pp. 226–234, 2006.
Kim, J. and Creasy, T., “Selective laser sintering characteristics of nylon 6/clay-reinforced nanocomposite,” Polymer Testing, Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 629–636, 2004.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Eshraghi, S., Karevan, M., Kalaitzidou, K. et al. Processing and properties of electrically conductive nanocomposites based on polyamide-12 filled with exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets prepared by selective laser sintering. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 14, 1947–1951 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-013-0264-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-013-0264-y