Evaluation of 3D Printing Parameters on the Electrochemical Performance of Conductive Polymeric Components for Chemical Warfare Agent Sensing

Aiming at the use of 3D printing as a tool in the design of electronic components and sensors, the present work has developed a preliminary evaluation of the influence of printing conditions on the electrochemical behavior of PLA and commercial carbon conductor-based composites. For this, characterization experiments were carried out by means of infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis, pointing to a clear variability of behavior of different types of PLA, as well as the influence of this variation on the thermal behavior of the composites, which consequently influences the processes of 3D printing. Experiments allowed a speculation of the conductor load present in the conductive filament (about 20.5%), although it was not possible to define its category. The print modes, in turn, proved to be a decisive factor for the electroanalytical behavior in front of a redox probe, being responsible for improving or worsening the resolution, or favoring the exchange in a given direction. In all cases, the relations between currents (cathodic and anodic) were acceptable, although the loss of resolution, translated in the form of spacing between peaks, has greatly contaminated the calculation of electroactive areas in some cases. Clearly, an optimization of the printing process, as well as a better control in the particle size, will allow obtaining high electroactive areas, with adequate resolution, even with low driver loads, which shows a promising line currently in development in our Group.