Enhanced dual photo/thermal initiating systems for preparation of few layer graphene filler-based composites and 3D printing

Abstract

The photopolymerization synergistic thermal polymerization process has been successfully applied in the preparation of very opaque composites. In this work, the fabrication of opaque few layer graphene (FLG) composites was accomplished by an enhanced dual photo/thermally initiated photopolymerization process under LED@405 nm irradiation and in an open (to air) system. A significant improvement of the depth of cure (Doc) can be observed compared to the solely photochemical approach. Furthermore, the kinetics of the curing thickness was examined in detail, importantly, it was possible to obtain customized products with desired thicknesses by varying the time. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to access the homogeneity of the composites, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were used to examine the thermal and mechanical properties of the composites. Finally, the formulation was also employed successfully for 3D printing/direct laser write experiments.