Laser-Induced Graphene by Multiple Lasing: Toward Electronics on Cloth, Paper, and Food

TLDR

Patterned graphene on diverse materials such as food, cloth, paper, cardboard, Kevlar, and coal under ambient conditions is highly desirable. The authors present a method that uses multiple pulsed‑laser scribing to convert a wide range of substrates into laser‑induced graphene. By defocusing the laser, multiple lases are generated in a single pass, simplifying the process. The multiple‑lase technique produces highly conductive graphene patterns on many substrates in ambient air without extending processing time relative to Kapton, works for any carbon precursor convertible to amorphous carbon, and offers a generally applicable route for flexible, biodegradable, and edible electronics.

Abstract

A simple and facile method for obtaining patterned graphene under ambient conditions on the surface of diverse materials ranging from renewable precursors such as food, cloth, paper, and cardboard to high-performance polymers like Kevlar or even on natural coal would be highly desirable. Here, we report a method of using multiple pulsed-laser scribing to convert a wide range of substrates into laser-induced graphene (LIG). With the increased versatility of the multiple lase process, highly conductive patterns can be achieved on the surface of a diverse number of substrates in ambient atmosphere. The use of a defocus method results in multiple lases in a single pass of the laser, further simplifying the procedure. This method can be implemented without increasing processing times when compared with laser induction of graphene on polyimide (Kapton) substrates as previously reported. In fact, any carbon precursor that can be converted into amorphous carbon can be converted into graphene using this multiple lase method. This may be a generally applicable technique for forming graphene on diverse substrates in applications such as flexible or even biodegradable and edible electronics.