Innovative approaches to polymer nanocomposite synthesis for 3D printing

3D printing is an additive manufacturing technique, which is used to manufacture complex parts layer by layer with the help of 3D design. The use of 3D printing is expanding day by day due to several advantages associated with this technique. These advantages include synthesis of complex geometries, liberty of design, low material wastage, etc. Although these advantages are very appealing but use of traditional materials in 3D printing is not very favorable at industrial level due to material limitations, low strength, high cost, and poor surface quality, which tends to decrease the performance of printed parts. To overcome these limitations, the addition of certain nanoparticles is favorable that results in polymer nanocomposites. These polymer nanocomposites tend to have high strength, low wear, low surface defects, enhanced mechanical properties, etc., which ultimately enhance the performance of printed parts. The properties of polymer nanocomposites depend on the nanoparticles and their concentration being used. In this chapter, various approaches and techniques to synthesize polymer nanocomposites for 3D printing (e.g., mechanical mixing, melt blending, and sol-gel) are discussed along with recent advancements.