3D printing nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical property and excellent electromagnetic wave absorption capability via the introduction of ZIF-derivative modified carbon fibers

Through in-situ synthesis and thermal annealing, ZIF-derived nanoarrays were introduced to the surface of carbon fibers. The resulting modified carbon fibers ([email protected]) with the hierarchical nanostructure showed excellent electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption capabilities, and were applied to 3D printing technology with polylactic acid (PLA) as the matrix. The [email protected] composites exhibited favorable 3D printability in comprehensive analysis, permitting the nanocomposite to be formed into complex structure as model designed. With the conduction loss, interface and dipole polarization and magnetic loss provided by [email protected], the nanocomposites containing 10 wt% [email protected] displayed superior electromagnetic wave absorption capability. The minimum reflection loss value reached −45.5 dB at 11.5 GHz with a thickness of 2.9 mm. The introduction of [email protected] enhanced the mechanical properties of 3D printing PLA parts. After 30 s of microwave processing, the tensile strength of 3D printing PLA nanocomposites can be further enhanced. The [email protected] simultaneously improved the microwave absorption and mechanical properties of 3D printing nanocomposites parts. Thus, it provided a new efficient approach for preparation of structure-designable nanocomposites with integration of desired mechanical and electromagnetic wave absorption properties through 3D printing technology.