Carbon fiber reinforced isotropic photo-curing 3D printing polymer composites

Photo-curing 3D printing has notable advantages such as rapid printing speeds and high-resolution. However, the mechanical properties of traditional photosensitive resins are insufficient and show anisotropy owing to the weak interlayer bond caused by the layer-by-layer printing process. In this study, 4-vinylaniline-modified carbon fibers (CF-Enamine) were synthesized via surface graft modification. The mechanical strength and anisotropy of the printed composites were thoroughly researched. With the additional interfacial bond between the modified fibers and the resin matrix, the tensile strength of the printed samples reached 66.0 MPa, which is 44.7 % higher compared to the pure resin. Furthermore, CF-Enamine plays a role as bridges between the printed layers, significantly reducing the tensile strength anisotropy of the printed samples to 3.3 %. This work prepared the reinforced isotropic 3D printed structures in virtue of the strong bond between CF-Enamine and resin matrix, which is expected to advance the practical application of photo-curing 3D printing in industry.