Material Extrusion Printing of Poly(Acrylonitrile‐Styrene‐Acrylate) and Poly(Acrylonitrile‐Butadiene‐Styrene) Structures Reinforced with Poly(Phenylene Oxide) Additives for Improved Thermomechanical Properties and their Surface Analysis by Time‐of‐Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Parker, Nia E.; Holt, Evan J.; Steren, Carlos A.; Ievlev, Anton; Kilbey II, S. Michael

doi:10.1002/adem.202501882

Material Extrusion Printing of Poly(Acrylonitrile‐Styrene‐Acrylate) and Poly(Acrylonitrile‐Butadiene‐Styrene) Structures Reinforced with Poly(Phenylene Oxide) Additives for Improved Thermomechanical Properties and their Surface Analysis by Time‐of‐Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Journal Article · Sun Nov 16 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Advanced Engineering Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202501882· OSTI ID:3018122

^[1]; Holt, Evan J. ^[1]; Steren, Carlos A. ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Fused filament fabrication offers the ability to 3D print complex geometries made from plastic filament materials; however, these parts are mechanically outperformed by parts created by traditional fabrication methods. To overcome this challenge, a high-performance polymer poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) is incorporated as an additive into two common engineering thermoplastics, poly(acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate) (ASA) and poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS). Structures printed from these polymer blends are more mechanically robust compared to those prepared from the parent polymers, with low loading levels (1–5 wt%) of PPO improving the elastic strength by up to ≈30% relative to the parent terpolymers. Even at higher loading levels (10 and 20 wt% PPO), there is no evidence of additive aggregation in the model thin films, which is supported by compositional analysis of the copolymers and chemical analysis via time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The enhancements in mechanical properties of ASA and ABS blends appear to be a consequence of homogeneous incorporation of the PPO additive. In conclusion, this work explores expanding materials-property space using miscible blends of engineering thermoplastics to improve mechanical performance as a general approach to overcoming challenges with parts created by melt-based material extrusion printing.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; NA0002839

Other Award/Contract Number:: DMR-1905487

OSTI ID:: 3018122

Journal Information:: Advanced Engineering Materials, Journal Name: Advanced Engineering Materials Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 28; ISSN 1527-2648; ISSN 1438-1656

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Related Subjects

additive manufacturing
engineering thermoplastics
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