A facile one step route that introduces functionality to polymer powders for laser sintering

Eduards Krumins, Liam A. Crawford, David M. Rogers, Fabricio Machado, Vincenzo Taresco, Mark East, Samuel H. Irving, Harriet R. Fowler, Long Jiang, Nichola Starr, Christopher D. J. Parmenter, Kristoffer Kortsen, Valentina Cuzzucoli Crucitti, Simon V. Avery, Christopher J. Tuck and Steven M. Howdle ()
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Eduards Krumins: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Liam A. Crawford: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
David M. Rogers: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Fabricio Machado: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Vincenzo Taresco: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Mark East: University of Nottingham
Samuel H. Irving: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Harriet R. Fowler: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Long Jiang: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Nichola Starr: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Christopher D. J. Parmenter: University Park, University of Nottingham
Kristoffer Kortsen: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Valentina Cuzzucoli Crucitti: University of Nottingham
Simon V. Avery: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham
Christopher J. Tuck: University of Nottingham
Steven M. Howdle: University of Nottingham, University Park Nottingham

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Laser Sintering (LS) is a type of Additive Manufacturing (AM) exploiting laser processing of polymeric particles to produce 3D objects. Because of its ease of processability and thermo-physical properties, polyamide-12 (PA-12) represents ~95% of the polymeric materials used in LS. This constrains the functionality of the items produced, including limited available colours. Moreover, PA-12 objects tend to biofoul in wet environments. Therefore, a key challenge is to develop an inexpensive route to introduce desirable functionality to PA-12. We report a facile, clean, and scalable approach to modification of PA-12, exploiting supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) and free radical polymerizations to yield functionalised PA-12 materials. These can be easily printed using commercial apparatus. We demonstrate the potential by creating coloured PA-12 materials and show that the same approach can be utilized to create anti-biofouling objects. Our approach to functionalise materials could open significant new applications for AM.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47376-4

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