In this presentation, we describe our recent work in developing polymer brush coatings for nanoparticles, which we use to modulate particle behavior on demand, induce the formation of pre-determined hierarchical nanoscopic architectures, and bolster traditional bulk polymers to form stronger materials by design. We will demonstrate that this approach enables readily processable materials that can be incorporated into multiple fabrication approaches, including additive manufacturing. We will present examples of materials that contain as much as 85 wt% inorganic particle content that possess the same processability and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix, and demonstrate how the polymer brush interactions can enable self-organization of nanostructures directly within a 3D-printable material. We will also show how brush-grafted particles can be used as additives to improve the self-healing capacity and printing speed of objects made via additive manufacturing, and how their unique rheological behaviors enable the manufacturing of structures that are compositionally homogeneous but possess intentional mechanical anisotropy. The materials and structures made via this approach will be demonstrated for potential applications in soft robotics, custom biomedical devices, and coatings for thermal management, mechanical protection, or refractive index matching.
