Tailoring diamondised nanocarbon-loaded poly(lactic acid) composites for highly electroactive surfaces: extrusion and characterisation of filaments for improved 3D-printed surfaces

Mateusz Cieślik; Agnieszka Susik; Mariusz Banasiak; Robert Bogdanowicz; Krzysztof Formela; Jacek Ryl

doi:10.1007/s00604-023-05940-7

Tailoring diamondised nanocarbon-loaded poly(lactic acid) composites for highly electroactive surfaces: extrusion and characterisation of filaments for improved 3D-printed surfaces

Mikrochim Acta. 2023 Aug 28;190(9):370. doi: 10.1007/s00604-023-05940-7.

Authors

Mateusz Cieślik^{1

2}, Agnieszka Susik³, Mariusz Banasiak⁴, Robert Bogdanowicz⁴, Krzysztof Formela³, Jacek Ryl⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308, Gdańsk, Poland. mateusz.cieslik@ug.edu.pl.
² Division of Electrochemistry and Surface Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland. mateusz.cieslik@ug.edu.pl.
³ Department of Polymer Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁴ Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunication and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁵ Division of Electrochemistry and Surface Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland. jacek.ryl@pg.edu.pl.

Abstract

A new 3D-printable composite has been developed dedicated to electroanalytical applications. Two types of diamondised nanocarbons - detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) and boron-doped carbon nanowalls (BCNWs) - were added as fillers in poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based composites to extrude 3D filaments. Carbon black served as a primary filler to reach high composite conductivity at low diamondised nanocarbon concentrations (0.01 to 0.2 S/cm, depending on the type and amount of filler). The aim was to thoroughly describe and understand the interactions between the composite components and how they affect the rheological, mechanical and thermal properties, and electrochemical characteristics of filaments and material extrusion printouts. The electrocatalytic properties of composite-based electrodes, fabricated with a simple 3D pen, were evaluated using multiple electrochemical techniques (cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). The results showed that the addition of 5 wt% of any of the diamond-rich nanocarbons fillers significantly enhanced the redox process kinetics, leading to lower redox activation overpotentials compared with carbon black-loaded PLA. The detection of dopamine was successfully achieved through fabricated composite electrodes, exhibiting lower limits of detection (0.12 μM for DND and 0.18 μM for BCNW) compared with the reference CB-PLA electrodes (0.48 μM). The thermogravimetric results demonstrated that both DND and BCNW powders can accelerate thermal degradation. The presence of diamondised nanocarbons, regardless of their type, resulted in a decrease in the decomposition temperature of the composite. The study provides insight into the interactions between composite components and their impact on the electrochemical properties of 3D-printed surfaces, suggesting electroanalytic potential.

Keywords: 3D-printable filament; Diamondised nanocarbons; Differential pulse voltammetry; Dopamine detection; Electrochemical analysis; Material extrusion.