Optical absorption and conduction of copper carbon nanotube composite for additive manufacturing

The applications of nanotechnology are growing widely as nanoscale structures provide unique properties such as high surface area unique plasmonic response and excellent conductivity that can be utilized for a wide range of applications. Optical absorption expansion of copper using carbon nanotube composite is one of the applications of nanotechnology for additive manufacturing of metals, particularly copper. Cu-CNTs mixtures at different percentage concentrations will be prepared via Resodyn, an acoustic mixer machine. Pure copper powder will be used with a spherical powder shape. The evaluation of the samples will be performed via spectroscopy to determine the reflection and thermal absorption of the light by the Cu-CNTs composition. The enhancement in the thermal absorption of Cu powder via additions of CNTs leads to the improvement in the bonding of particles by absorbing laser power. Due to the lower thermal expansion coefficient, sintering is possible at lower laser powers < 40%.