Tungsten Photocatalyst Filter Will Become the 3D Printer Standard Assembly

With the deepening of research, the 3D printer is slowly fading away from its mysterious veil and moving from laboratory to industrial production step by step. For design and manufacture, it is very good, but "nobody is perfect." While people are paying much attention to and advocating their advantages, have they ever thought that there might be some hidden dangers in 3D printers?

Part of the 3D printer is characterized by the need to use adhesives, which basically contain formaldehyde. In addition, some materials themselves release harmfulness in the printing process. The commonly used acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon will release volatile organic compounds, even less than normal printing temperatures may volatilize.

For example, the common melting and deposition technology (FDM) is a method of heating and melting a variety of silk materials (such as engineering plastic ABS, polycarbonate PC, etc.) Without relying on laser as a forming energy. When the gas is released, the volatile organic particulates contained in these vapors may cause eye, nose, throat irritation, headache, loss of coordination, nausea.

Good purification, filtration and ventilation are effective ways to reduce the potential health hazards of 3D printing. In addition to ensuring printing in large and ventilated rooms, the researchers recommend that a special filter module be integrated in 3D printers to minimize the negative effects of particulate and volatile organic compounds on the health of the users. In one experiment, the researchers used the purification module of bismuth tungstate / silver composite photocatalyst for testing.

Bismuth tungstate is the simplest structure of Aurivillius oxide, which is formed by alternating (Bi₂O₂) n₂n⁺ layer and perovskite (WO₄) n₂n^- layer, forming orthogonal structure. Special structure gives special dielectric, luminescence, ionic conductor, catalysis and other properties. Compared with the traditional TiO₂ material, bismuth tungstate has a narrow band gap. In order to convert more light, the disadvantage is to produce hole recombination and limited photocatalytic capacity. Silver is not only a natural antibacterial antivirus material, but also a good photosensitive material. Its catalytic performance is very good, but its band is wide, only ultraviolet light is absorbed, and it is unstable under light.

The combination of bismuth tungstate and silver is effective in purifying volatile organic compounds in 3D printers. The traditional air filter is difficult to capture the harmful factors of less than 0.3μm, and the photocatalytic filter can be used to degrade these compounds directly by ultraviolet light. Using a compound purification module containing nano bismuth tungstate and nano silver, the photons can be absorbed by the compound, which can convert the energy of light into excited charge carriers. Then, they can start and excite the redox reaction on the surface of the catalyst, and degrade the adsorbed organic and inorganic compounds into small safety molecules, such as H₂O and CO₂.

Similar safety studies are being carried out by many foreign companies and progress has been made in this field. Some companies have applied patents for photocatalytic filters designed for 3D printing. In the future, the photocatalytic purification module will become one of the standard components of 3D printers. 

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