Sustainable Microfabrication Enhancement of Graphene Nanoplatelet-Reinforced Biomedical Alumina Ceramic Matrix Nanocomposites

Studies about adding graphene reinforcement to improve the microfabrication performance of alumina (Al(2)O(3)) ceramic materials are still too rare and incomplete to satisfy sustainable manufacturing requirements. Therefore, this study aims to develop a detailed understanding of the effect of graphene reinforcement to enhance the laser micromachining performance of Al(2)O(3)-based nanocomposites. To achieve this, high-density Al(2)O(3) nanocomposite specimens were fabricated with 0 wt.%, 0.5 wt.%, 1 wt.%, 1.5 wt.%, and 2.5 wt.% graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) using a high-frequency induction heating process. The specimens were subjected to laser micromachining. Afterward, the effects of the GNP contents on the ablation depth/width, surface morphology, surface roughness, and material removal rate were studied. The results indicate that the micro-fabrication performance of the nanocomposites was significantly affected by the GNP content. All nanocomposites exhibited improvement in the ablation depth and material removal rate compared to the base Al(2)O(3) (0 wt.% GNP). For instance, at a higher scanning speed, the ablation depth was increased by a factor of 10 times for the GNP-reinforced specimens compared to the base Al(2)O(3) nanocomposites. In addition, the MRRs were increased by 2134%, 2391%, 2915%, and 2427% for the 0.5 wt.%, 1 wt.%, 1.5 wt.%, and 2.5 wt.% GNP/Al(2)O(3) nanocomposites, respectively, compared to the base Al(2)O(3) specimens. Likewise, the surface roughness and surface morphology were considerably improved for all GNP/Al(2)O(3) nanocomposite specimens compared to the base Al(2)O(3). This is because the GNP reinforcement reduced the ablation threshold and increased the material removal efficiency by increasing the optical absorbance and thermal conductivity and reducing the grain size of the Al(2)O(3) nanocomposites. Among the GNP/Al(2)O(3) nanocomposites, the 0.5 wt.% and 1 wt.% GNP specimens showed superior performance with minimum defects in most laser micromachining conditions. Overall, the results show that the GNP-reinforced Al(2)O(3) nanocomposites can be machined with high quality and a high production rate using a basic fiber laser system (20 Watts) with very low power consumption. This study shows huge potential for adding graphene to alumina ceramic-based materials to improve their machinability.