3D printing high-performance composites and polymers: Sustainable nanomaterials, CO2 membranes, and oil-water separations

Energy and sustainability have been important tasks in our times to utilize new materials and technologies that contribute to a circular economy. 3D Printing of polymers has emerged as a potent materials-design and geometric-function-based manufacturing method that has gained ground in a number of applications related to energy, carbon capture, and purification methods. We have investigated a number of polymer composite high-performance polymer systems that can be 3D printed using techniques such as FDM, SLA, SLA, DIW, etc. These methods enable to the manufacturing of functional devices including membranes. In this talk, we will first introduce methods of fabricating materials based on toughened nanocomposites from cellulose and chitosan, oil-water separation with 3D-printed filters from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based membranes containing silica for CO₂/N₂ gas separation, The printability of the materials was assessed by rheology, DSC, TGA, DMA, and thermomechanical testing. While the membranes were characterized by spectroscopy, microscopy, thermal analyses, and mechanical measurements. Thus demonstrating the potential of 3D printing as an economical and sustainable fabrication method in developing materials for carbon capture applications, oil-water separations, and toughened composites.