Fabrication of graphene-based 3D structures by stereolithography

Stereolithographic fabrication of graphene-based 3D constructs was demonstrated. The photocrosslinkable resin/graphene oxide mixtures were fabricated to samples that closely followed the structure of the designed 3D model. After 3D printings, the graphene oxide/polymer composites were pyrolyzed to reduce graphene oxide to electrically conductive graphene and to decompose the polymer, resulting in 3D structures consisting entirely of graphene. The method presented in this paper proved to be successful for producing designed 3D structures but further optimization is needed for practical applications due to high shrinking and brittleness of the pyrolyzed 3D constructs. By pyrolyzing the polymer component only partly, electrical conductivities in the range of semiconductors were achieved.