The effect of the inorganic nanomaterials on the UV-absorption, rheological and mechanical properties of the rapid prototyping epoxy-based composites

We here report the photosensitive nanocomposites as the new rapid prototyping materials. The nanocomposites are prepared using the properly surface-modified sepiolite nanofibers, graphene oxide, TiO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles as the reinforcing fillers in the epoxy-based resin. These nanocomposites are investigated about the mechanical properties, viscosity and light absorption. By fitting the rheological test results into the Krieger-Dougherty equation, the influences of the different-shaped fillers on the material viscosity and the maximum packing fraction of the fillers are obtained. The extinction coefficients of the inorganic fillers are obtained using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites are improved due to the surface-modified inorganic fillers. It is found that the as-prepared materials are appropriate for stereolithography and digital light processing, with which we succeed in fabricating the dental model of high dimensional accuracy.