Employment of Carbon Nanomaterials for Welding Polyethylene Joints with a Nd:YAG Laser

Single-lap polymeric joints can be obtained using laser welding overlapping two polymeric sheets, with one laser transparent and the other laser adsorbent. In this study we employed crystalline carbon nanomaterials (in amounts of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 wt.%) as filler to enhance the absorption of polyethylene (UHMWPE type). A Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm was used as a power source to make the welded joints. Morphological, mechanical, and calorimetrical tests were carried out to study the strength of the joints made. Serious attention was paid to find the best compromise between exposure time to laser light and filler amount. We found that in the optimal conditions (with 0.2 wt.% filler and 60 s exposure time) the joint exhibits a good shear strength with a regular welded area. In fact, the best conditions guarantee proper absorption power of the laser light and deep interpenetration of the chains between the two polymeric sheets without any damage.