Modified 3D-printed architectures: Effects of coating by alumina on acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer structures were coated with alumina (Al2O3) using the trimethylaluminum(III) and water atomic layer deposition (ALD) process at 80 & DEG;C, which resulted in a 203 nm thin film with a 1.35 & ANGS; growth per cycle. This thin film was a well-adhered protective overcoating on ABS to prevent reaction with acetone vapors in a solvent resistance experiment. Scratch tests were not able to remove the overcoating from the polymer surface, which provided a 50% and 32% increase in acetone vapor resistance before initial deformation and complete structure collapse, respectively. A more aggressive tape test caused delamination of the protective coating. This proof-of-concept experiment demonstrates how 3D printing combined with ALD overcoating can alter the chemical characteristics of complex polymer architectures.

Automated summary

This study successfully coated 3D-printed ABS polymer structures with alumina using the ALD process, demonstrating that this thin film can effectively prevent reaction with acetone and improve the resistance of the polymer to acetone vapor.