By Nidhi DhullReviewed by Lexie CornerJul 17 2024 Three‐dimensional printing has emerged as a versatile and powerful technology allowing the fabrication of structures with complex geometries. It has significantly impacted engineering and manufacturing processes across multiple sectors, including automobiles, aerospace, healthcare, construction, and consumer products.1 The cost-effectiveness and high speed of 3D printing can accelerate the transition to a digital world.
BN-incorporated poly fibers are explored for thermal control textiles in personal cooling applications. BN ensures the fibers’ compact structure, even distribution, and appropriate orientation, enhancing tensile strength, thermal conductivity, and uniform heat distribution. Challenges and Limitations Despite several advantageous properties of BN, its utilization in 3D printing is mostly limited to research and development. This is primarily due to the technical challenges in processing BN for 3D printing. The strong B-N bonds responsible for the robustness of BN make its functionalization challenging.3
Better printability can be achieved by investigating the BN properties as a filler, including chemical structure and cure kinetics.4 This will also help reduce the costs of BN-based 3D printing for commercial applications.3 Another recent study in ACS Applied Nano Materials demonstrated the incorporation of hBN into cellulose, a natural polymer, to produce 3D-printed nanosheets for energy harvesting applications. Mechanically exfoliated hBN was used as a rheology modifier in the cellulose matrix. The 3D-printed hBN-cellulose film exhibited high strength, flexibility, and maximum apparent viscosity.6