Nafen nanofibers find application in the flame retardant nanocomposites for 3D printing

NAFEN ​​continues to work actively with the research partners around the world to find out new applications of nanofibers and confirm their unique properties in different hi-tech areas. Our company’s main objective is to set-up a solid footprint within the European and worldwide advanced materials manufacturers.

We believe that the extensive R&D work gives our partners the confidence in the high potential of the nanofibers in the very different concepts. One of the promising new developments in the application of the material is using it as a component of nanocomposites for 3D-printing.

Recently, Joseph H. Koo Research Group from The University of Texas at Austin prepared the paper „Flame Retardant Polyamide 11 and Alumina Nanocomposites for Additive Manufacturing” for 2018 SAMPE-Long Beach Conference.

The article describes the problem of current flame retardant (FR) polyamide 11 (PA11) formulations that offer greatly improved thermal stability and flammability resistance at the cost of reduced mechanical properties. Previous studies have already shown that compared to nanoclay, alumina nanoparticles (Al2O3) have a more favorable effect on mechanical properties in composites. In this study, alumina nanofibers were compounded with non-halogenated FR additives and PA11 via twin-screw extrusion. Design of experiment was used to study the processing-structure-property relationships of the aluminum oxide and FR. Eleven formulations were selected to study this relationship. The formulations were extruded into 1.75mm filaments for the purpose of fused filament fabrication (FFF) additive manufacturing. The filament was successfully printed into test bars for flammability and mechanical properties characterizations of the nanocomposite.

The results successfully demonstrated the enhanced compatibility of PA11 with chemically functionalized NAFEN nanofibers. In addition, the onset heat release for the functionalized NAFEN formulations occurred at a higher temperature demonstrating improved thermal stability. Additional formulations will be printed and tested in a future follow up study.

The full-text article with the details of the research is planned to be published before the end of 2018. For us, it is important, that these results open new outstanding opportunities for the nanofibers. It confirms that NAFEN has a bright future thanks to such R&D partnerships within the scientific community.