Preparation and Laser Marking Properties of Poly(propylene)/Molybdenum Sulfide Composite Materials

Zheng Cao; Guangwei Lu; Hongxin Gao; Zhiyu Xue; Keming Luo; Kailun Wang; Junfeng Cheng; Qingbao Guan; Chunlin Liu; Ming Luo

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c00255

Preparation and Laser Marking Properties of Poly(propylene)/Molybdenum Sulfide Composite Materials

ACS Omega. 2021 Mar 25;6(13):9129-9140. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c00255. eCollection 2021 Apr 6.

Authors

Zheng Cao^{1

2

3

4}, Guangwei Lu², Hongxin Gao², Zhiyu Xue², Keming Luo², Kailun Wang², Junfeng Cheng², Qingbao Guan¹, Chunlin Liu^{2

3

4}, Ming Luo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers & Products, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
³ Changzhou University Huaide College, Changzhou 213016, P. R. China.
⁴ National Experimental Demonstration Center for Materials Science and Engineering (Changzhou University), Changzhou 213164, P. R. China.
⁵ School of Materials Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu, Jiangsu 215500, P. R. China.

Abstract

In this study, using molybdenum sulfide (MoS₂) as laser-sensitive particles and poly(propylene) (PP) as the matrix resin, laser-markable PP/MoS₂ composite materials with different MoS₂ contents ranging from 0.005 to 0.2% were prepared by melt-blending. A comprehensive analysis of the laser marking performance of PP/MoS₂ composites was carried out by controlling the content of laser additives, laser current intensity, and the scanning speed of laser marking. The color difference test shows that the best laser marking performance of the composite can be obtained at the MoS₂ content of 0.02 wt %. The surface morphology of the PP/MoS₂ composite material was observed after laser marking using a metallographic microscope, an optical microscope, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). During the laser marking process, the laser energy was absorbed and converted into heat energy to cause high-temperature melting, pyrolysis, and carbonization of PP on the surface of the PP/MoS₂ composite material. The black marking from carbonized materials was formed in contrast to the white matrix. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, the composite materials before and after laser marking were tested and characterized. The PP/MoS₂ composite material was pyrolyzed to form amorphous carbonized materials. The effect of the laser-sensitive MoS₂ additive on the mechanical properties of composite materials was investigated. The results show that the PP/MoS₂ composite has the best laser marking property when the MoS₂ loading content is 0.02 wt %, the laser marking current intensity is 11 A, and the laser marking speed is 800 mm/s, leading to a clear and high-contrast marking pattern.