Exploring the effect of 3D printing on cellulose orientation
5 March 2019 | Read time: 3 minutes
A joint project between Scion and SfTI has enabled researchers to create a 4D printed tree that stands up when triggered by water or heat, opening up possibilities such as valves that open and close as water temperature changes or solar cells that unfold in response to light.
The tree is made from plastic with added cellulose. Cellulose is one of the materials that contributes to plant shapes and strength in standing upright and is the most abundant biomaterial on earth. In different forms it has different properties - the tangled fibres of cotton wool will absorb water, while the knitted fibres in a tee-shirt will stretch.
Added cellulose can change the properties of other materials, particularly if the long cellulose nanocrystals are all oriented in the same direction. Aligned cellulose can reinforce and increase strength, resulting in materials that are stronger than steel in some cases.
3D printing has the potential to control the orientation of cellulose nanocrystals in plastic polymers. This opens up the possibility of producing materials that have enhanced/tailored physical properties and respond to their environment - a concept known as 4D printing.
The best way to view the arrangement of sub-microscopic cellulose added to plastics is to bombard the samples with X-rays and look at their diffraction patterns. The only place to do this in the Southern Hemisphere is the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne. A joint project between Scion and SfTI has enabled Dr Stefan Hill and Dr Marie Joo Le Guen (Scion), Dr Jerome Leveneur (GNS Science) and Dr John MacDonald-Wharry (University of Waikato) to take advantage of rapid sample throughput and extremely high resolution X-rays at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne.
The preliminary results from experiments on 3D printed samples made from different cellulose/plastic composites show that 3D printing parameters and the way materials are treated after printing strongly influence the alignment and self-assembly of the cellulose nanocrystals.
This new knowledge opens up the possibility of designing novel responsive materials and products such as valves that open and close as water temperature changes, solar cells that unfold in response to light, new wound management products, or flotation for devices for products or people entering water.
