Impact of graphene reinforcement on mechanical properties of PLA 3D printed materials

The addition of graphene nanoplatelets to plastics and polymers is currently under investigation as a promising method to improve their working conditions, thanks to graphene's good mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. The present work investigates the impact of graphene addition on the mechanical properties of a poly-lactic acid 3D printed material. We 3D printed specimens with 0%, 1% and 2% of graphene nanoparticles by weight, and we performed tensile tests. We found that graphene addition does not contributes to increase both stress and strain at failure, while it improves stiffness at 45°, exhibiting an anomalous behavior with respect to standard composite materials.