3D Printing of Ultrathin MXene toward Tough and Thermally Resistant Nanocomposites

Liquid crystal display (LCD)-based 3D printing, a facile and cost-effective manufacturing technique, is often applied when fabricating objects with porcelain structures using photosensitive resins (PSRs). Currently, 3D printed constructions are typically used as models for demonstration purposes rather than industrial applications because of their poor performance. In this study, we prepared nanocomposites by incorporating Ti3C2 MXene nanosheets to enhance the overall characteristics of a PSR, including mechanical properties and thermal resistance. Notably, the designed nanocomposites showed optimum performance at an MXene loading of 0.5% w/w. The mechanical properties of the designed nanocomposites confirmed the enhanced ultimate tensile and flexural strengths (by 32.1% and 42.7%, respectively), at 0.5% w/w MXene loading. Moreover, the incorporated MXene presented no substantial influence on the toughness of the PSR. The glass transition and thermal degradation temperatures at 5% weight loss increased by 7.4 and 10.6 °C, respectively, resulting predominantly from the hydrogen bonding between the PSR and MXene. Together, the experimental results indicate that the designed PSR/MXene nanocomposites are expected to replace pristine resins for LCD printing in various practical applications.