Well-dispersed cellulose-graphene in 4D printing biopolymer

4D printing boasts potential applications in many fields due to the unique characteristics of reacting to external stimuli through changes in the shape or molecular structure. Here, cellulose is used as the main matrix of printing ink owing to its excellent mechanical properties and ability to respond to various stimuli upon functionalization. Partial dissolution of cellulose was done to obtain bioink with shear-thinning behaviour that assists smooth extrusion and is composited with graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) to increase the mechanical properties. DIW 3D printed 2.0GnP/cellulose exhibited excellent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 80.28 MPa and elastic modulus of 2.90 GPa. The complex printed structure demonstrated shape-changing capability by folding into a cube upon dehydration and becoming a flat surface upon hydration, paving the way for cellulose-based composite 4D printing.

Automated summary

4D printing with cellulose-based bioink composited with graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) showed excellent mechanical properties, paving the way for potential applications in various fields.