Polymer Nanocomposite Sensors with Improved Piezoelectric Properties through Additive Manufacturing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Additive manufacturing (AM) offers new possibilities for conformal electronics.
• Limited availability of UV-curable piezoelectric polymers hinders 3D printing applications.
• Development of tailorable 3D printable piezoelectric materials is crucial for smart sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel UV-curable polymer resin with enhanced piezoelectric properties for 3D printing.
• To investigate the impact of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) on the properties of a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based resin.
• To assess the printability and piezoelectric performance of the developed nanocomposite resin.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of a polymer resin using PVDF and UV-curable constituents.
• Incorporation of BNNTs to create a nanocomposite material.
• Evaluation of structural, thermal, rheological, mechanical, and piezoelectric properties.
• Micro-scale 3D printing using a liquid crystal display (LCD) based printer.

Main Results:

• Successful micro-scale 3D printing of both polymer and nanocomposite resins.
• Demonstrated enhancement of piezoelectric properties in the BNNT-reinforced nanocomposite.
• Achieved an increase in voltage response by up to 50.13% with BNNT incorporation.

Conclusions:

• The developed PVDF-based nanocomposite resin is suitable for 3D printing using LCD technology.
• BNNTs significantly improve the piezoelectric performance of the UV-curable resin.
• This research paves the way for advanced 3D printable flexible sensors and energy harvesting systems.