Processing of green PLA/MWCNT/lignin composites into electrodes with electrochemical response Silvia Lage-Rivera 1 , Ana I. Ares-Pernas 1 , María-José Abad 1 , Sona Hermanova 2 , Martin Pumera 3 1 Universidade da Coruña, Campus Industrial de Ferrol, Grupo de Polímeros-CITENI, 15403 Ferrol, A coruña, Spain 2 3D Printing and Innovation Hub, Department of Food Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic 3 3D Printing and Innovation Hub, Department of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic Email: silvia.lage1@udc.es Nowadays, the development of novel polymeric materials with enhanced physical properties, such as electrical conductivity or electrochemical response, tends to incorporate natural materials from renewable sources as additives. Among biopolymeric additives belongs lignin 1 , a complex aromatic heteropolymer, which is the second most abundant biopolymer on earth. Lignin is a waste from the wood and paper industry, and it gives rise to highly added-value final products. In addition, the lignin is a thermoplastic so, it can be processed by standard techniques: extrusion, hot compression moulding or fusion deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing. Herein, we developed a novel polymer composite made from a bio-based polylactic acid (PLA) 2 matrix, an electrically conductive nanofiller (multiwalled carbon nanotubes or MWCNT) and lignin as a natural additive, which served as a dispersant of the nanofillers. The composites were processed by melt extrusion followed by compression moulding. The resulting coins-shaped specimens nanofiller dispersion was analyzed by SEM (scanning electron microscope), DSC (differential scanning calorimeter) and rheology methods. In addition, the electrical conductivity and electrochemical response were evaluated by 4 points method and cyclic voltammetry respectively. Next, by chemical activation process 3,4 the electrochemical response was increased and the results were comparable with that of 3D printed specimens composed of PLA-based conductive commercial polymer filament. Based on the results, we suggest that as prepared PLA/MWCNT/lignin composites can find application in electronic devices including batteries and sensors and can function as platforms for construction of biosensors. References 1. A. Grossman and V. Wilfred, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. , 2019, 56 , 112–120. 2. E. Castro-Aguirre, F. Iñiguez-Franco, H. Samsudin, X. Fang and R. Auras, Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. , 2016, 107 , 333–366. 3. M. P. Browne, F. Novotný, Z. Sofer and M. Pumera, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces , 2018, 10 , 40294–40301. 4. C. L. Manzanares Palenzuela, F. Novotný, P. Krupička, Z. Sofer and M. Pumera, Anal. Chem. , 2018, 90 , 5753–5757.
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