Effect of cellulose fibers on the structure, rheological and 3D printing properties of corn starch-based hydrogel ink.

In recent years, there has been a lot of study focused on controlling the rheological and 3D printing characteristics of starch-based hydrogels. Rigid cellulose fiber (CF) was employed in this study as a modifier to control the rheology, structure, and 3D printing characteristics of corn starch (CS) hydrogels. The findings demonstrated that CS and CF had a robust hydrogen connection, which facilitated CF's dispersion inside the CS matrix. When CF was present, the CS hydrogel's continuous network structure was destroyed, and its viscosity was greatly decreased. Results from low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) indicated that the hydrogel system considerably shortened the water's relaxation period. Rheological data revealed that the addition of CF increased the mechanical properties of the CS-CF hydrogel and gave it exceptional self-supporting qualities. CS-CF hydrogel outperformed pure CS hydrogel in terms of 3D printing properties. The appearance and precision of the printed object were measured, and it was discovered that CF2 had satisfactory 3D printing qualities, allowing it to completely recreate the preset model with a printing accuracy of 98.1 %. As a result, this study can serve as a reference for enhancing the rheology and 3D printing performance of starch-based hydrogels.