A feasibility study for a straightforward decoration of a 3D printing filament with graphene oxide

Abstract

The modification of 3D printing filaments with specific compounds, especially nanomaterials, can be regarded as an effective approach for the fabrication of novel composite structures. For this aim, the interest for potential applications of graphene oxide is continuously growing thanks to its versatility in several technological fields ranging, e.g., from mechanical engineering and sensors development to bioengineering. The intrinsic properties of this 2D carbon nanomaterial joined to the potential of 3D printing can pave the way to different approaches for designing and manufacturing ad hoc components. The present study shows a straightforward method to cover a commercial polymeric filament with graphene oxide to be subsequently processed into a testing structure by fused deposition modeling. The experimental characterization was carried out to assess the reliability of the process with the aim to evaluate the presence, the role and the distribution of the graphene oxide on the polymeric surface.

Keywords:

• Graphene oxide
• 3D printing
• composites

Acknowledgments

The Author thanks Dr. Francesca Zurlo and Mrs. Cadia D'Ottavi, Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, for the TGA analysis.