Aerosol Jet Printing Conductive 3D Microstructures from Graphene Without Post-Processing

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene microstructures have the potential to boost performance in high-capacity batteries and ultrasensitive sensors. Numerous techniques have been developed to create such structures; however, the methods typically rely on structural supports, and/or lengthy post-print processing, increasing cost and complexity. Additive manufacturing techniques, such as printing, show promise in overcoming these challenges. This study employs aerosol jet printing for creating 3D graphene microstructures using water as the only solvent and without any post-print processing required. The graphene pillars exhibit conductivity immediately after printing, requiring no high-temperature annealing. Furthermore, these pillars are successfully printed in freestanding configurations at angles below 45 degrees relative to the substrate, showcasing their adaptability for tailored applications. When graphene pillars are added to humidity sensors, the additional surface area does not yield a corresponding increase in sensor performance. However, graphene trusses, which add a parallel conduction path to the sensing surface, are found to improve sensitivity nearly 2x, highlighting the advantages of a topologically suspended circuit construction when adding 3D microstructures to sensing electrodes. Overall, incorporating 3D graphene microstructures to sensor electrodes can provide added sensitivity, and aerosol jet printing is a viable path to realizing these conductive microstructures without any post-print processing. Graphene ink is printed with an aerosol jet printer to form 3D microstructures. The conductivity and strength of the stack-printed graphene without post-processing are highlighted, achieving pillars with less than a 45 degrees angle with respect to the substrate. After extensive parameter optimization, appropriately designed graphene 3D microstructures are shown to boost sensitivity in electronic humidity sensors.image

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the use of aerosol jet printing to create 3D graphene microstructures without any post-print processing, using water as the only solvent. These microstructures exhibit conductivity immediately after printing and can be printed in freestanding configurations. Adding these microstructures to sensor electrodes can enhance sensitivity.