Copper has been widely used in many applications due to its outstanding properties such as malleability, high corrosion resistance, and excellent electrical and thermal conductivities. While 3D printing can offer many advantages from layer-by-layer fabrication, the 3D printing of highly pure copper is still challenging due to the thermal issues caused by copper’s high conductivity. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent work on 3D printing technology of highly pure copper over the past few years. The advantages and current issues of 3D printing methods are compared while different properties of copper parts printed by these methods are summarized. Finally, we provide several potential applications of the 3D printed copper parts and an overview of current developments that could lead to new improvements in this advanced manufacturing field.

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The production of continuous carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers and films has paved the way to leverage the superior properties of individual carbon nanotubes for novel macroscale applications such as electronic cables and multifunctional composites. In this manuscript, we synthesize fibers and films from CNT aerogels that are continuously grown by floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) and measure thermal conductivity and natural convective heat transfer coefficient from the fiber and film. To probe the mechanisms of heat transfer, we develop a new, robust, steady-state thermal characterization technique that enables measurement of the intrinsic fiber thermal conductivity and the convective heat transfer coefficient from the fiber to the surrounding air. The thermal conductivity of the as-prepared fiber ranges from 4.7 ± 0.3 to 28.0 ± 2.4 W m(-1) K(-1) and depends on fiber volume fraction and diameter. A simple nitric acid treatment increases the thermal conductivity by as much as a factor of ∼3 for the fibers and ∼6.7 for the thin films. These acid-treated CNT materials demonstrate specific thermal conductivities significantly higher than common metals with the same absolute thermal conductivity, which means they are comparatively lightweight, thermally conductive fibers and films. Beyond thermal conductivity, the acid treatment enhances electrical conductivity by a factor of ∼2.3. Further, the measured convective heat transfer coefficients range from 25 to 200 W m(-2) K(-1) for all fibers, which is higher than expected for macroscale materials and demonstrates the impact of the nanoscale CNT features on convective heat losses from the fibers. The measured thermal and electrical performance demonstrates the promise for using these fibers and films in macroscale applications requiring effective heat dissipation.

We investigated the effects of the synthesis conditions and condensation processes on the chemical compositions and multifunctional performance of the directly spun carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers. On the basis of the optimized synthesis conditions, a two-step post-treatment technique which involved acidification and epoxy infiltration was also developed to further enhance their mechanical and electrical properties. As a result, their tensile strength and Young's modulus increased remarkably by 177% and 325%, respectively, while their electrical conductivity also reached 8235 S/cm. This work may provide a general strategy for the postprocessing optimization of the directly spun CNT fibers. The treated CNT fibers with superior properties are promising for a wide range of applications, such as structural reinforcements and lightweight electric cables.