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Planar and Three-Dimensional Printing of Conductive Inks
Published on: December 9, 2011
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3D printing of conducting polymers
Hyunwoo Yuk1, Baoyang Lu2,3,4, Shen Lin5
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Nature Communications
|April 2, 2020
Summary
A new 3D printable conducting polymer ink, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), enables high-resolution microstructures for flexible electronics and bioelectronics. This innovation facilitates rapid device fabrication, including soft neural probes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Bioelectronics
Background:
- Conducting polymers offer potential for energy storage, flexible electronics, and bioelectronics.
- Conventional fabrication methods limit innovation and broad application of conducting polymers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a high-performance 3D printable conducting polymer ink.
- To enable facile fabrication of complex conducting polymer microstructures.
- To demonstrate streamlined device fabrication for bioelectronic applications.
Main Methods:
- Formulation of a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) ink.
- Utilizing multi-material 3D printing for integrated structures.
- Conversion of 3D-printed polymers into hydrogel microstructures.
Main Results:
- Achieved superior printability for high-resolution, high-aspect-ratio conducting polymer microstructures.
- Successfully integrated conducting polymers with insulating elastomers.
- Demonstrated conversion to conductive and soft hydrogel microstructures.
- Fabricated a soft neural probe for in vivo single-unit recording.
Conclusions:
- The developed PEDOT:PSS ink significantly advances 3D printing of conducting polymers.
- This approach streamlines the fabrication of advanced conducting polymer devices.
- The technology holds promise for next-generation flexible electronics and bioelectronics.
