Development of TPU/HNT nanocomposite filaments for 3D printing

Abstract

Materials for biomedical applications is a frontier area of research and development in Materials Engineering and the use of additive manufacturing techniques to produce personalized devices has gained great prominence. This research project aims to develop nanocomposite filaments based on a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix and hollow halloysite nanotubes (HNT). Both the matrix and the nanoparticle have characteristics of biocompatibility and bio-stability, which make them excellent candidates for biomedical use. In addition to obtaining the filaments, the influence of rheological behavior and printing variables on the surface quality and dimensional stability of standard devices printed using the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technique will be analyzed.