Production and 3D Printing of a Nanocellulose-Based Composite Filament Composed of Polymer-Modified Cellulose Nanofibrils and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) for the Fabrication of 3D Complex Shapes

This work aims to produce a 3D-printable bio-based filament composed of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and chemically modified cellulose nanofibrils. Printing using HDPE as raw material is challenging due its massive shrinkage warping problems. paper presents new method overcome those difficulties by enhancing the mechanical properties achieving better print quality. was achieved nanofibrils (CNFs) fillers. Firstly, CNF converted CNF-based macroinitiator through an esterification reaction, followed surface-initiated single-electron transfer living radical polymerization (SI-SET-LRP) hydrophobic monomer stearyl acrylate. Poly acrylate-grafted nanofibrils, CNF-PSAs, were synthesized, purified characterized with ATR-FTIR, 13C CP-MAS NMR, FE-SEM water contact angle measurements. A composite successfully produced twin-screw extruder CNF-PSA content 10 wt.%. Mechanical tests carried out tensile testing. An increase in properties, up 23% for Young’s modulus, observed. morphologic analysis also revealed good matrix/CNF compatibility, no aggregates could be reduction behavior compared assessed circular arc method. The 3D printing complex objects CNF-PSA/HDPE resulted quality when object printed neat HDPE. Therefore, it concluded that suitable filler reinforcement HDPE, thus, rendering printing.