Fabrication of 3D-Printed Polyurethane Resin Composites and its Dielectric Performance

Purpose The Purpose of the research can be rewritten as follows: “The purpose of this research is to study the dielectric response of a 3D-printed polymer composite filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polyurethane-based photopolymer resin. The research also aims to investigate the effect of CNT loading and the post-UV curing process on the dielectric performance.“ Methods 3D printed polymer composites are fabricated with CNT fillers at weight percentages of 0.5 wt%, 1 wt%, 2.5 wt%, and 3 wt%. The influence of post-treatment on the dielectric behavior of the 3D-printed samples is investigated by subjecting them to ultraviolet (UV) light. XRD, TGA, DMA, and dielectric spectroscopy are performed to study the crystalline or amorphous nature of the samples, their thermal stability, mechanical properties, and dielectric performance, respectively. Results The broad hump in the XRD plot depicts the amorphous nature of the composite material. The thermal stability of the material is found to be less than 50 °C. The study shows that post-curing of the 3D sample with UV light decreases the dielectric constant and increases the dielectric loss. Increasing the CNT percentage causes an increase in both the dielectric constant and loss. The DMA result presented does not show any mechanical improvement due to the filler in the 3D printed samples. Conclusion The study demonstrates that the dielectric performance of 3D printed polymer composites can be effectively controlled by CNT loading and UV post-curing. Increasing the CNT percentage increases the dielectric constant and loss, while increasing the UV post-curing time decreases the dielectric constant but increases the dielectric loss. The study provides important insights for the fabrication of 3D printed polymer composites for various dielectric applications.