ABSTRACT
The development of bio-based polymer composite materials has been of paramount importance in order to meet the demands of the enormous usage of plastics. 3D printing has become one of the noteworthy applications of bio-based plastics. Polycarbonate nanocomposite filaments infused with carbon synthesized from waste coconut shell powder have been developed with various filler loadings of 0.7, 1 and 3%. XRD results suggested the synthesized carbon is partially crystalline amorphous and the Raman spectroscopy revealed the disordered graphitic structure. The thermal analysis of the filaments has shown that there is no significant change in the degradation temperature of the filaments with an increase in filler loading. The residue amount has increased significantly. The glass transition temperature of the filaments has marginally reduced compared to the neat filaments. Tensile tests have shown that the addition of carbon nanoparticles has enhanced the mechanical properties of the filaments as well as 3D printed films, suggesting that the developed filaments can be successfully used for 3D printing applications.
