Enhanced UV-C resistance of 3D-printed poly(lactic acid)/glass fiber composites: Structural stability and sustainable design

Next Materials Pub Date : 2025-08-05 DOI:10.1016/j.nxmate.2025.101039

Jiaru Zhou , Shinjiro Machida , Kazushi Yamada

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Abstract

The development of molded products using biodegradable biomass plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) has been actively promoted in order to reduce environmental problems caused by petroleum-derived plastics. However, because biomass plastics are brittle and have low thermal stability, there is a need to develop fiber-reinforced composites with weather and heat resistance. In this study, PLA/glass fiber (GF) composite moldings are fabricated using a 3D printer, and the effects of UV-C irradiation on PLA/GF composites were evaluated by irradiating them with UV-C for 0 −14d. The results suggest that although the surfaces of the PLA and PLA–GF composite are oxidized, the degradation of PLA molecules by UV-C is reduced as the GF content increases. That is, compared to neat PLA, the decrease in the melting point, tensile modulus and strength of the PLA/GF composite material was suppressed. We demonstrated that glass fibers have the potential not only as a reinforcing material but also as a UV-absorbing material by making good use of the property that glass does not allow short-wavelength UV rays to pass through.

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增强3d打印聚乳酸/玻璃纤维复合材料的抗UV-C能力：结构稳定性和可持续设计

利用聚乳酸（PLA）等可生物降解生物质塑料开发模塑制品，以减少石油衍生塑料带来的环境问题。然而，由于生物质塑料易碎，热稳定性低，因此需要开发具有耐候性和耐热性的纤维增强复合材料。在本研究中，使用3D打印机制作PLA/玻璃纤维（GF）复合材料模具，并通过UV-C照射0 −14d来评估UV-C照射对PLA/GF复合材料的影响。结果表明，尽管PLA和PLA - GF复合材料的表面被氧化，但随着GF含量的增加，UV-C对PLA分子的降解减少。也就是说，与纯PLA相比，PLA/GF复合材料的熔点、拉伸模量和强度的下降受到抑制。我们证明了玻璃纤维不仅有潜力作为增强材料，而且通过充分利用玻璃不允许短波长的紫外线通过的特性，也有潜力作为吸收紫外线的材料。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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