Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become increasingly popular today due to its rapid prototyping, ease of use, versatility, and low cost. The two most popular types of 3D printers are fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA). In FDM, filaments of thermoplastic materials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polylactic acid, polycarbonate, and polyvinyl alcohol are heated in an extrusion nozzle head which melts the materials producing a model in a layer-by-layer fashion. In SLA, a liquid resin is cured by a laser to form a hardened plastic via photopolymerization.<br/>With the growing use of 3D printers in the laboratory, concerns regarding volatile organic compound (VOC) production during printing have risen. Human exposure to the released VOCs may possess potential health risks. In addition, the liberated VOCs may diffuse within the laboratory and pose contamination or interference issues to sensitive analytical instrumentation. Thus, there is a need to compare the VOC production from FDM and SLA printers and monitor their spatial distribution within the laboratory.<br/>In this presentation, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is used to analyze VOCs released during printing using common resins and filaments. SPME fibers containing various commercially-available sorbent coatings were deployed at various locations in the laboratory and their selectivity for capturing various VOCs were compared. It was found that the detected VOCs varied depending upon the filaments and resins used and that VOCs produced from the SLA printer were distributed more throughout the laboratory, while FDM generally produced the most VOCs. Extraction profiles for the VOCs were dependent upon extraction times, position of fibers, and the types of fibers employed. Overall, SPME combined with GC/MS constitutes a promising approach for detecting and monitoring the release of VOCs during 3D printing.

Monitoring the spatial distribution of volatile organic compounds within the laboratory produced by 3D printing using solid-phase microextraction

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.