Conductive Polypropylene\nAdditive Manufacturing Feedstock:\nApplication to Aqueous Electroanalysis and Unlocking Nonaqueous Electrochemistry\nand Electrosynthesis

Additive manufacturing electrochemistry is an ever-expanding\nfield;\nhowever, it is limited to aqueous environments due to the conductive\nfilaments currently available. Herein, the production of a conductive\npoly(propylene) filament, which unlocks the door to organic electrochemistry\nand electrosynthesis, is reported. A filament with 40 wt % carbon\nblack possessed enhanced thermal stability, excellent low-temperature\nflexibility, and high conductivity. The filament produced highly reproducible\nadditive manufactured electrodes that were electrochemically characterized,\nshowing a <i>k</i><sup>0</sup> of 2.00 ± 0.04 ×\n10<sup>–3</sup> cm s<sup>–1</sup>. This material was\nthen applied to three separate electrochemical applications. First,\nthe electroanalytical sensing of colchicine within environmental waters,\nwhere a limit of detection of 10 nM was achieved before being applied\nto tap, bottled, and river water. Second, the electrodes were stable\nin organic solvents for 100 cyclic voltammograms and 15 days. Finally,\nthese were applied toward an electrosynthetic reaction of chlorpromazine,\nwhere the electrodes were stable for 24-h experiments, outperforming\na glassy carbon electrode, and were able to be reused while maintaining\na good electrochemical performance. This material can revolutionize\nthe field of additive manufacturing electrochemistry and expand research\ninto a variety of new fields.