High-performance nano-PTFE reinforced nickel mold for defect-free micro injection molding of surface micro structures

doi:10.1007/s40436-025-00568-7

Advances in Manufacturing ›› 2026, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (2): 274-293.doi: 10.1007/s40436-025-00568-7

High-performance nano-PTFE reinforced nickel mold for defect-free micro injection molding of surface micro structures

Tian-Yu Guan¹, Quan-Liang Su¹, Ri-Jian Song², Rong-Cheng Gan³, Yi-Xin Chen¹, Feng-Zhou Fang^1,4, Nan Zhang¹

1. Centre of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology (MNMT-Dublin), School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland;
2. Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland;
3. School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;
4. State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Laboratory of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology (MNMT), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China

收稿日期:2024-07-11 修回日期:2024-09-09 出版日期:2026-04-27 发布日期:2026-04-27
通讯作者: Nan Zhang,E-mail:nan.zhang@ucd.ie E-mail:nan.zhang@ucd.ie

High-performance nano-PTFE reinforced nickel mold for defect-free micro injection molding of surface micro structures

Tian-Yu Guan¹, Quan-Liang Su¹, Ri-Jian Song², Rong-Cheng Gan³, Yi-Xin Chen¹, Feng-Zhou Fang^1,4, Nan Zhang¹

1. Centre of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology (MNMT-Dublin), School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland;
2. Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland;
3. School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;
4. State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Laboratory of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology (MNMT), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China

Received:2024-07-11 Revised:2024-09-09 Online:2026-04-27 Published:2026-04-27
Contact: Nan Zhang,E-mail:nan.zhang@ucd.ie E-mail:nan.zhang@ucd.ie

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Interest in electroformed nickel (Ni) molds has continued increasing due to their high precision, low cost and high surface finish. Nevertheless, pure Ni molds still rely on extra surface treatments employing release agents to achieve defects-free demolding and meanwhile, mitigate the residual contamination. To address these issues, lubricant-retaining Ni mold was achieved by doping low surface tension polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nano-fillers into the Ni matrix via electrodeposition. The introduction of surfactant mixtures facilitated the successful incorporation of PTFE into the Ni matrix, causing them to perfectly integrate and form as a whole. Such mold exhibited excellent mechanical performance with the enhanced hardness of 452 HV (2.3-fold increase), low surface roughness of 23 nm in S_a and low surface energy of 28.1 mJ/m² (33.6% decrease), resulting in a maximum reduction of 28.6% in demolding force. This Ni-PTFE mold can withstand more than 1 500 demolding cycles without the need for additional demolding agents or the removal of residual contaminants. Importantly, no PTFE nanoparticles were detected on the produced cyclic-olefin-copolymer (COC) chips, as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis and Raman spectroscopy, confirming no contamination to the polymer and no lubrication degradation of such mold. Polymer chips produced from such mold displayed well-defined structures and excellent biocompatibility, rendering them suitable for microfluidic applications. Finally, this facile and cost-effective method enables creating a reusable, high-resolution mold with low surface energy, ensuring defects-free demolding for the mass production of polymer parts.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00568-7

关键词: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nano-filler, Lubrication, Electroforming, Mold, Micro injection molding

Abstract: Interest in electroformed nickel (Ni) molds has continued increasing due to their high precision, low cost and high surface finish. Nevertheless, pure Ni molds still rely on extra surface treatments employing release agents to achieve defects-free demolding and meanwhile, mitigate the residual contamination. To address these issues, lubricant-retaining Ni mold was achieved by doping low surface tension polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nano-fillers into the Ni matrix via electrodeposition. The introduction of surfactant mixtures facilitated the successful incorporation of PTFE into the Ni matrix, causing them to perfectly integrate and form as a whole. Such mold exhibited excellent mechanical performance with the enhanced hardness of 452 HV (2.3-fold increase), low surface roughness of 23 nm in S_a and low surface energy of 28.1 mJ/m² (33.6% decrease), resulting in a maximum reduction of 28.6% in demolding force. This Ni-PTFE mold can withstand more than 1 500 demolding cycles without the need for additional demolding agents or the removal of residual contaminants. Importantly, no PTFE nanoparticles were detected on the produced cyclic-olefin-copolymer (COC) chips, as confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis and Raman spectroscopy, confirming no contamination to the polymer and no lubrication degradation of such mold. Polymer chips produced from such mold displayed well-defined structures and excellent biocompatibility, rendering them suitable for microfluidic applications. Finally, this facile and cost-effective method enables creating a reusable, high-resolution mold with low surface energy, ensuring defects-free demolding for the mass production of polymer parts.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00568-7

Key words: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nano-filler, Lubrication, Electroforming, Mold, Micro injection molding

Tian-Yu Guan, Quan-Liang Su, Ri-Jian Song, Rong-Cheng Gan, Yi-Xin Chen, Feng-Zhou Fang, Nan Zhang. High-performance nano-PTFE reinforced nickel mold for defect-free micro injection molding of surface micro structures[J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2026, 14(2): 274-293.

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High-performance nano-PTFE reinforced nickel mold for defect-free micro injection molding of surface micro structures

High-performance nano-PTFE reinforced nickel mold for defect-free micro injection molding of surface micro structures

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