Sustainable Energy Solutions via Graphene Quantum Dots-Functionalized 3D-Printed Materials

Incorporating graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in 3D printing offers a promising route toward sustainable energy devices. Owing to the interesting optoelectronic properties of GQDs, the performance of 3D-printed energy products is improved: Solar cells gain charge transport enhancement with engineered light-absorbing structures; Batteries increase energy density with optimized porous electrodes, while supercapacitors achieve cycling stability with a precisely engineered network of porosity. Besides conventional applications, this hybridization can lead to innovative, flexible, and integrated energy solutions. Nevertheless, ink stability, large-scale production, and eco-friendly materials remain main concerns. This review discusses the advances made in the application of GQDs for printing inks and their combination with advanced additive manufacturing processes, specifically fused deposition modeling (FDM), direct ink writing (DIW), stereolithography (SLA), and inkjet printing. It is imperative to encourage new strategies around hybrid printing technologies and material design through machine learning toward preparing the field for commercialization. When today's expense and scale dilemmas are solved, GQD-enabled three-dimensional printing will bring forth meaningfully advanced sustainable energy technologies by integrating advanced manufacturing with nanomaterials research. This report also provides a thorough overview of the developments in the field while pointing out future research directions that are necessary for unlocking the potential of this technology.