Electrochemically Scalable Synthesis of Oxygen-Functionalized Graphene Nanosheets as Conductive Inks for 3D-Printed Electronic Devices
摘要
Graphene-based conductive inks offer a promising alternative to conventional metal nanoparticle inks in printed electronics due to their environmental safety, mechanical flexibility, and low material cost. In this study, we reported a scalable approach for the synthesis of oxygen-functionalized graphene nanosheets via electrochemical exfoliation of graphite in a neutral aqueous electrolyte, followed by ink formulation using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizer. The resulting graphene ink exhibits viscosity of 700–1000 mPa·s, making it suitable for extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) printing and enabling the fabrication of radio-frequency identification (RFID) dipole antennas on different substrates. Comprehensive characterization confirms the successful formation of few-layer to multilayer oxygenated graphene nanoflakes, while the printed films achieve electrical conductivity of 2.0 × 105 S/m after annealing at 250°C in air. The RFID devices printed with graphene-based ink demonstrate a read range of approximately 2.0 cm at 900 MHz. Furthermore, theoretical calculations confirm the changes in the electronic structure of oxygen-functionalized graphene compared to pristine graphene. These findings highlight the feasibility of electrochemical mass production of oxygen-functionalized graphene nanosheets and their application in creating low-cost, flexible, and eco-friendly electronic devices.
Graphical Abstract