Evaluation of titania nanofillers in photopolymerization and additive manufacturing

To improve the current materials for stereolithography, titania (TiO2) was added as a nanofiller. Titania is known to interact with light and act as a photocatalyst in the UV light spectrum. It also has the ability to enhance crosslinks in a polymer matrix. At low concentrations between 0.125 wt.% and 0.25 wt.%, titania is able to speed up the cure rate of the some SLA resins. This could be the work of titania acting as a photocatalyst, which increases the rate of photopolymerization. Excess titania concentration resulted in the opposite effect, with cure rate decreasing with increasing concentration. This could be the result of a light-blocking effect by titania. Titania also aids to increase the mechanical strength of the material with increasing concentration in one of the material tested. This suggests that titania has the ability to induce better mechanical properties, possibly by reinforcement of crosslinks within the polymer matrix. The performance across other resins containing titania showed different results. At selected concentrations, it indicated an increase in mechanical strength at titania lower concentrations, but later decreased at higher concentration of titania. This could be due to the formation of agglomerates when concentration is high, which destroys the integrity of the polymer structure.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering