3D-Printed Graphene Foam

Jun-21-17 A laser-based technique for creating graphene foam could open the door to mass-produced graphene for industrial use.

The process, from a team at Rice University, involves shining a CO2 laser onto a mixture of nickel powder and powdered sugar. As the laser melts the sugar, the nickel acts as a catalyst to help boost the graphene formation, resulting in a foam with large pores making up more than 99 percent of its volume.

According to co-lead author Yilun Li, “The 3-D graphene foams prepared by our method show promise for applications that require rapid prototyping and manufacturing of 3-D carbon materials, including energy storage, damping and sound absorption.”

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