In-situ synthesis of 3D printable mono- and Bi-metallic (Cu/Ag) nanoparticles embedded polymeric structures with enhanced electromechanical properties

The interest of additive manufacturing with 3D printing increases day by day, which provides improved mechanical, electrical, magnetic and thermal properties of 3D parts. The production of 3D parts with the stereolithography (SLA) method, which allows it to be produced with high precision, resolution and complex geometries, distinguishes itself from other alternative additive manufacturing methods (FDM. SLS. LOM. LMD etc.). However, studies on the preparation of functional 3D polymer nanocomposites with the SLA method are quite limited. This study aims to produce silver (Ag) and/or copper (Cu) based 3D polymer nanocomposites for enhancing its mechanical strength, thermal stability and electrical conductivity. Mono and bimetallic (Cu/Ag) nanoparticles have been in-situ synthesized by selective irradiation of laser beam method using a commercial SLA device. In this method, metal (Cu/Ag) acrylate containing photocurable resin is not only cured but also leads to thermal decomposition of metal ions into nanoparticles to form functional 3D structures. The mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of polymer nanocomposites are characterized in detail. As a result of the analysis, the nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 25–55 nm, are well dispersed in the polymer matrix without agglomeration. The temperature at which 5% weight loss of Ag and Cu based polymer structures is measured as 179.3 °C while the glass transition temperature is found to be 223.81 °C. Most importantly, the resistance values are significantly decreased from 456.62 GΩ (Gigaohm) to 1.50 GΩ by increasing the amount of Ag addition at 3D polymeric structures. Therefore, this study allows the production of polymer nanocomposites not only in complex structures but also in desired properties especially for electrically conductive materials, capacitors and electronic applications.