Structural Variations in Laser-Induced Carbon from Poly(furfuryl alcohol) with Varied Degree of Polymerization

Laser-induced graphenization is a technique for patterning carbon materials directly onto polymer substrates under ambient conditions, but suitable polymer substrates are limited. Poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) is a carbon precursor often derived from biomass waste, making it an environmentally friendly material. However, the structure of PFA is highly sensitive to synthetic conditions. This work prepares PFA with systematically varied chemical functionalities to examine how polymer structural factors affect laser-induced carbon formation. Three different series of PFA were prepared with varied chemical features, as confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, then lased by a CO2 infrared laser. Raman spectroscopy on the resultant carbons revealed that the degree of PFA polymerization altered the degrees of structural order in the laser-induced carbon. Both glassy carbon and graphitic carbon were found in the three PFA series, with the latter produced when the PFA had the highest degree of polymerization. These results identify the structural features necessary to avoid amorphous glassy carbons, which will help guide precursor development for a controlled laser-induced graphene synthesis.