| Abstract Scope |
Owing to their unique properties brought by nanosized reinforcements, nanocomposites offer a broad range of benefits, thus attracting extensive attention and being widely applied to automotive, biomedical, aerospace, and other high-tech industries. As a flexible additive manufacturing (AM) method, direct ink writing (DIW) shows great promise for processing a wide variety of nanocomposites at low cost. Despite these benefits, problems still exist in DIW of nanocomposites, such as entrapped air bubbles and agglomerations of nanosized reinforcements. Facing these challenges, we have integrated acoustic field with DIW to provide real-time ultrasonic vibration during the printing process. In this investigation, graphene is selected to reinforce polydimethylsiloxane due to graphene’s high stiffness and strength, low density, and efficiency in property enhancement with a little addition. Experimental results evidenced that the integration of acoustic field is beneficial for reducing air bubbles, homogenizing graphene distribution, and enhancing mechanical performance. |