High-performance medical-grade resin radically reinforced with cellulose nanofibers for 3D printing

Nectarios Vidakis; Markos Petousis; Nikolaos Michailidis; John D Kechagias; Nikolaos Mountakis; Apostolos Argyros; Orsa Boura; Sotirios Grammatikos

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105408

High-performance medical-grade resin radically reinforced with cellulose nanofibers for 3D printing

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2022 Oct:134:105408. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105408. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

Authors

Nectarios Vidakis¹, Markos Petousis², Nikolaos Michailidis³, John D Kechagias⁴, Nikolaos Mountakis⁵, Apostolos Argyros⁶, Orsa Boura⁷, Sotirios Grammatikos⁸

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical Engineering Department, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Estavromenos, 71004, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Electronic address: vidakis@hmu.gr.
² Mechanical Engineering Department, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Estavromenos, 71004, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Electronic address: markospetousis@hmu.gr.
³ Physical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; Centre for Research & Development of Advanced Materials (CERDAM), Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Centre, Building B', 10th Km Thessaloniki-Thermi Road, 57001, Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: nmichail@auth.gr.
⁴ School of Technology, University of Thessaly, 43100, Karditsa, Greece. Electronic address: jkechag@uth.gr.
⁵ Mechanical Engineering Department, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Estavromenos, 71004, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Electronic address: mountakis@hmu.gr.
⁶ Physical Metallurgy Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; Centre for Research & Development of Advanced Materials (CERDAM), Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Centre, Building B', 10th Km Thessaloniki-Thermi Road, 57001, Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: aposargy1@ee.duth.gr.
⁷ Laboratory of Advanced and Sustainable Engineering Materials (ASEMlab), Group of Sustainable Composites, Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2815, Gjøvik, Norway. Electronic address: orsa.boura@ntnu.no.
⁸ Laboratory of Advanced and Sustainable Engineering Materials (ASEMlab), Group of Sustainable Composites, Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2815, Gjøvik, Norway. Electronic address: sotirios.grammatikos@ntnu.no.

PMID: 35981423
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105408

Abstract

The effect of Cellulose NanoFiber (CNF) addition to a medical-grade resin in Stereolithography (SLA) Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology is reported, aiming to elaborate an easily processable, highly stiff bio-compound. CNFs were shear stir blended at various weight ratios with liquid resin. The fabricated nanocomposite materials were introduced in an SLA 3D printer for specimens manufacturing. The mechanical performance was studied according to international standards. Charpy Toughness and Vickers microhardness were calculated for all tested materials. A microscopic and surface analysis was conducted on fractured tensile specimens by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), respectively. The thermal and thermomechanical properties were investigated by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Calorimetry (DSC), and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Significant reinforcement of the medical-grade nanocomposites is reported, with the highest values calculated to be at 1.0 wt% concentration (more than 100% at the tensile strength), while brittleness and rigidity were increased.

Keywords: 3D printing; Biomedical resin; Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs); Fractography; Mechanical testing; Vat photopolymerization.

MeSH terms

Cellulose / chemistry
Nanocomposites* / chemistry
Nanofibers* / chemistry
Printing, Three-Dimensional
Tensile Strength

Substances

Cellulose