A Material Combination Concept to Realize 4D Printed Products with Newly Emerging Property/Functionality.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing
• Smart Materials

Background:

• 4D printing enables time-varying structures, but often lacks controllable property and functionality changes.
• Existing 4D printed products primarily focus on geometric transformations, not material property evolution.
• There is a need for 4D printed devices with integrated, dynamic functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a material combination concept for 4D printed devices with controllable property and functionality variations.
• To develop 4D printed magnetoelectric devices capable of energy conversion.
• To demonstrate the potential application of these devices as sensitive pressure sensors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a material combination strategy with conductive and magnetic components for 4D printing.
• Integrated conductive and magnetic parts to achieve emergent magnetoelectric properties.
• Employed numerical simulations (Comsol software) to analyze and optimize device working mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated 4D printed devices exhibiting magnetoelectric properties from non-piezoelectric constituents.
• Demonstrated the devices' capability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy via electromagnetic induction.
• Validated the device's potential as self-powered, quick-responding, and sensitive pressure sensors.

Conclusions:

• The proposed material combination concept enables property- and functionality-changed 4D printing.
• Developed a novel manufacturing method for flexible magnetoelectric devices.
• Highlighted the potential of 4D printed magnetoelectric sensors for applications like security systems.