Search

The acrylate-based photopolymer consists of tetra-functional polyester acrylate (TPA), and hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) has been successfully composited with nano barium titanate (BaTiO3) and completely cured via a digital light processor RP machine. The degradation temperature, tensile strength, hardness, resistivity, and dielectric constant of samples were characterized by Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer Hi-Res TGA2950, Universal Tensile Machine JIA701, Hardness Shore D tester, Fluke 117 multimeter, and Agilent B1500A Semiconductor Device Analyzer, respectively. The morphology changes of the samples were also investigated using the JEOL JSM-6390LV scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the improvement of degradation temperature is not obvious. Furthermore, the modulus elasticity, hardness, and dielectric constant increase as the filler loading increases up to 2 phr, but the resistivity is vice versa. Interestingly, there is an inverse correlation between dielectric constant and resistivity of photopolymer/BaTiO3 nanocomposite.

This study represents an in situ polymerization by preparation of tetrafunction polyester acrylate mixed with 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate/clay nanocomposite by digital light processor rapid prototyping. The morphology of nano-clay fillers and the dispersing agent in the photopolymer matrix are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Degradation temperature, tensile strength, impact strength, and hardness are characterized by using thermogravimetric analysis, universal tensile machine, Izod impact tester, and hardness shore A tester, respectively. Results show that the effect of clay loading with an appropriate amount of dispersant tends to significantly increase not only the tensile strength and hardness but also the degradation temperature of photopolymer/clay nanocomposite; however, the impact strength is not affected. In the same conditions, as visualized on SEM images, the nanocomposite tends to form the exfoliated structure with agglomeration of clay, which is caused by uneven distribution of nano-clay in the photopolymer matrix.