Additive Manufacturing of Hybrid Cellulose Fibers Reinforced Polymer Nanocomposites

Hybrid reinforced polymer composites are materials in which a particular polymer matrix is reinforced with more than one reinforcing materials, or one type of reinforcing material is incorporated into two similar or different polymer matrix mixtures. Hybrid reinforced polymer composites are among multifunctional materials when more than one characteristic benefit (e.g., mechanical strength, conductivity) is needed. In this study, pulp and nanocellulose fibers were used for reinforcing polylactic acid (PLA) because of their relatively low cost, abundance, and biodegradability. The hybrid nanocomposites were produced with nanocellulose loading between 0 and 20 wt% to investigate the effect of fiber loading on the composite tensile performance. The hybrid nanocomposites obtained were characterized using tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, a demonstration of additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) of hybrid nanocomposites was carried out. Results show that cellulose fibers can provide PLA with a higher tensile performance.