3D printed polylactic acid/graphene nanocomposites with tailored multifunctionality towards superior thermal management and high-efficient electromagnetic interference shielding

The relative lack of printable materials with tailored functionalities limits the development of three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques. Herein, a promising multifunctional filament was fabricated by incorporating graphene nanosheets (GNs) into polylactic matrix via a solution-blending method. With this strategy, the uniform-distributed GNs were obtained in the matrix, even with a high GNs concentration (9.08 vol%). The resultant nanocomposites exhibited desired functionalities, that the thermal conductivity (Tc) was up to 3.22 W/m.k, more than ten times that of pure one (0.25 W/m.k), and the electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI SE) reached 34.9 dB at X-band region, meaning 99.97 % shielding efficiency to EWMs energy. Thereafter, by tapping into the manufacturing potential of 3D printing, a series of ideal parts featuring arbitrarily designated structures and exceptional performance was constructed. Particularly, the 3D-printed heat sinks possessed outstanding behaviors in thermal management, where the corresponding initial dissipating rate achieved a 266 % improvement over that of the pure one. Besides, the 3D-printed shielding module posed high-efficiency EMI SE performance, corresponding to 35.8 dB at a specific Bluetooth-interaction signal (2.4 GHz). Overall, this innovative study not only enriches the printable materials with tailored multifunctionality but also brings the promising potential for applications in the next-generation functional parts.

Automated summary

This study presents a promising multifunctional filament by incorporating graphene nanosheets (GNs) into a polylactic matrix using a solution-blending method. The resulting nanocomposites exhibit improved thermal conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding. By utilizing 3D printing technology, ideal parts with arbitrary structures and exceptional performance, such as heat sinks and shielding modules, were successfully constructed. This innovative study enriches printable materials and shows promising potential for next-generation functional parts.